


Dirty Swan-Dancing

by Mie779



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dancing, Dirty Dancing, F/M, Summer Romance, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:08:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 71,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23451475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mie779/pseuds/Mie779
Summary: Emma might end up having "the time of her life" when going on a long summer vacation with her family. What will happen when she is forced to spend more time with the hot dance instructor? New friendships will grow and maybe turn into something more, it will be a summer to remember. - OUAT cast dumped into a Dirty Dancing storyline (sort of)
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 9
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AN: I've been on a sort of writing hiatus since I wrote "The words" last August... (did one small one-shot just for fun earlier this year) This one has been lurking in the back of my mind for some time. And the original idea comes from WAAAAY back, even before I ever watched OUAT... The short version of the idea is to take the cast (my beloved ship CaptainSwan) into a setting/storyline much like "Dirty Dancing"... (my old "original" idea was to do the same with the cast of Harry Potter... not sure that will ever happen...I think... I love CaptainSwan and OUAT way too much now... :) )
> 
> The story WILL NOT follow the Dirty Dancing storyline 100%, BUT the themes and overall idea is the same. Emma goes to this vacation resort with her family and yes there will be dancing... and since I'm NOT a dance expert what so EVER the technicalities of the dance segments will not be described to perfection. I hope my idea will be visible to the readers anyway.
> 
> I had a hard time finding someone to beta read this... but MaraMoonBrook has been so gracious to pick through my many glaring grammar mistakes... (English is not my native language.) and she doesn't even watch OUAT... but since this is a VERY AU thing it didn't really matter because it is mainly the grammar I needed help with. THANK YOU :)
> 
> Enjoy this first chapter, got 7 done already, they are at my beta, but she seems to be working fast, so it will be uploaded within the next few weeks. I got somewhere around 11-12 chapters planned. Hope you like this... can't wait to hear what you think of this little crazy idea of mine. (So yes reviews would be amazing... thanks) ENJOY

Chapter 1

“Mom?! Tell me again why we needed to go on this trip… this family trip as you like to call it?” Emma asked from the back seat, her earbuds pulled out so she could hear her mother’s reply… she sighed in resignation. She knew she would hate this trip; she hated it before they left their home, she hated it now, and she sure as hell would hate it once they got there. Having just turned 21, she sort of felt lured into agreeing to come along. Oh, but your brother would miss you, and we really want to have this family vacation with both our children. Emma could hear her mother’s voice inside her head.

“Oh honey, you know we wanted to do this as a family. I know you’re a grown woman now Emma, but we can still have fun as a family; that won’t change.” Emma’s mother explained. 

“It will only be a few more hours, sweetie,” Emma’s father chimed in, and changed lanes on the highway. It would be a short time before they would pull off the highway and onto smaller roads leading to their final destination: “Storybrooke Hillside resort.” Who had come up with a name like that…? Emma wondered. It was a family friendly vacation resort located in the mountains, next to a large lake. It had all the activities you could imagine, and maybe even a few you couldn’t imagine. Her mother had told Emma there were dance classes and had looked at her like she would jump over the moon with joy over this fact. So, okay, she had been doing the usual school plays and has done fairly decent in the dance department, all things considered. She even got her nickname Swan after one production of, guess what… “Swan Lake.” Emma was okay with it; she had had the lead role in it, though by no means had she been a top talent at dancing. As of now, everyone around her called her Swan, and she was okay with that. 

“Storybrooke Hillside Resort” was owned by Regina Mills-Hood, who was married to Robin Mills-Hood. Robin was an old college friend of Emma’s father, David Nolan. He had been in the hotel business over the years, and when he had married Regina 5 years ago, he had taken over the run of the actual hotel on site. They each had a son from previous marriages; both spouses had passed away. Regina had Henry, age 11, and Robin had Roland, age 9. The boys always loved their time at the resort during summer break. Emma had heard her father talk about his old friend and the new family Robin had gotten. So, when they had been invited to the resort, her parents had accepted gladly. 

Emma glanced at the resort catalogue her mother had deliberately placed on the backseat. It was filled with all the summer activities the place had to offer. She might as well get a look at what dreadful things she could do this summer, unless she wanted to stay cooped up in her room with her phone and read. But she guessed cell service was dodgy at best; they were out in the middle of the woods after all. Speaking of woods, Emma looked at all the outdoor stuff one could do-- kayaking, rock-climbing, ziplining over the water, treetop walking, and hiking. Again, all the usual stuff, and each day also offered a variety of sports and games. Emma was not much into that. Then there were crafts, drama classes, and yes--lo and behold--the dance classes. All classes were explained and a photo of the dance instructor(s) in charge was on each page. But the very last class “Classic dance with a modern twist,” had no picture, only a name: Killian Jones (Picture not available). Emma scoffed at this; the dude was probably old as shit and had a potbelly. She had no idea what she wanted to do; she might as well cave in to her mother’s idea of a fun time, with the family. Emma looked at her younger brother, Leo. Well, his real name was Leopold, but Emma always called him Leo, her little lion. What had her parents been thinking when they chose that name? 

“So, are you getting familiar with what is being offered as activities, honey?” Her mother’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. 

“Hmm, I guess,” Emma mumbled and looked out the window. They had been there some 4 years ago. Regina had inherited the resort one year before, from her late husband. She had recently met Robin and started dating him, so he had been the one to suggest that his old friend bring his family up to the resort. Until then, Regina had had little to no interaction with that side of her late husband’s resort. But now she had thrown her whole life into it; she and Robin had made the necessary changes to the place so it would be modern and up to par with what the guests wanted. So they--well her parents at least-- looked forward to seeing what they had done with the place.

They turned the last bend of the road and the gate into the resort came into view. It sure looked as if changes had been made. Everything looked pristine and fancy, yet with a homey feel to it. The Nolan family had booked one of the luxury cabins; they wanted the privacy away from the hustle and bustle in the hotel. Emma liked this. 

When they parked the car, they were greeted by Regina Mills, followed by Robin. As her parents greeted their friends, Emma got out of the car and walked to the back to get her bags. 

She was met by a young man, who quickly introduced himself: “’ello there love, me name is Will, Will Scarlett at your service, Miss…?” He raised a questioning eyebrow at her. Emma smiled. He clearly thought he was quite the ladies’ man. 

“Swan.” She replied, she usually just said her nickname. It had stuck, and it sometimes caused some funny reactions when meeting new people. 

“Swan? What the bloody f… eh sorry love, what kind of a name is that?” Will asked in surprise. 

Emma laughed and said: “I’m Emma, but everyone calls me Swan. It’s a long story, which you are not going to get.” Will gave a pouty face at this but began unloading the bags to a golf cart that would bring them down to their cabin. 

“Will’s the name, love, in case you ever need assistance with anything while you’re here with your family.” Will chimed in, and grinned. 

“Thanks, I guess,” Emma replied and shook her head. She really wasn’t in the mood to chitchat at the moment. 

Emma tuned out Will’s chatter and turned around to look over the parking lot filled with fancy cars. Being in a fairly rich family herself, she was used to it. Her father owned Nolan Industries, which produced large farming equipment.   
Suddenly, a beat-up old truck came through the gates and drove to the back of the hotel. Emma looked curiously at the car but she could not clearly see who drove the truck, only dark shadows and what looked like dark hair. Who would drive such a beat-up car to a fancy place like this? 

Will had apparently seen her curious look and whispered: “Ah that would be one of our elusive dance instructors; I pulled a few strings to get him this gig. Ye know I ken’ him from our time in England, where we went to school together. He needed a change in scenery so to speak.” Will shrugged, and added, “But never mind that bloke, he is no good for a lass such a you’self.” He winked at her and she could see that he hoped to win her over by his British charm. The accent was a nice change, but Emma was not really ready to pursue any romantic involvement right now. Not after the whole Neal break-up. It was still too raw to think of. 

But she did take him up on the offer to drive with him to their cabin. Her parents and Leo drove with Robin. Once they arrived, she helped Will to unload their bags. Then she bid him farewell and let herself into their home for the summer. They spent the rest of the day together as a family, getting to know their surroundings and locating the various activity sites. 

As Emma lay in her bed that night she looked in the catalogue again and came to the page with the class “Classic dance with a modern twist.” She paused and wondered if the mysterious instructor might be the same guy who drove that old truck. Well, the vacation would have to be filled with something, so she might as well do something that she sort of enjoyed. With that decision made, she lay down to sleep, wondering what this summer would bring.


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma met a new friend and get a first glimpse of the dance instructor.

Chapter 2

The next day, Emma was woken by her younger brother who seemed to be filled with energy and just wanted to get going at all the fun and games he apparently already had made plans for.

"Come on Emma, wake up! We're eating breakfast, and then we go to the lake. Dad said I can go kayaking, alone, and then… then we go and play some games and me and dad might go mountain biking in the afternoon, and we need to go swimming too." Leo rambled on and on about all he had planned.

Emma groaned into her pillow. Not even on her summer vacation could she sleep in. "Okay… okay I'm coming. Look, I'm up, so get out of here, you little lion."

Leo shot her a huge grin; he had always loved that Emma called him her little lion. Emma watched the retreating form of her brother. As much as he could be a pain in the arse, he did have a special place in her heart.

She got out of bed, threw on a sweater, and walked out into the kitchen area of the cabin. They had chosen to make their own breakfast while on vacation. The whole family enjoyed quietness in the mornings, and it really didn't matter if you came out to the table in PJs and bed hair. Emma loved the fact that her parents were so down to earth that they could be like this together. They might be slightly rich, but that didn't stop them from spending time together as a family.

Breakfast was eaten, and they all got ready for the day. Emma wore some simple cut-off jean shorts and a summery tank top that hugged her upper body in a way that she knew her mother might not approve of… But hey, she was an adult here, and what if she wanted to look good? Not that she was really looking into anything seriously, not after Neil, but if this summer vacation was going to happen, it would happen with some sort of fun involved. Looking good could never hurt.

Emma walked out to her family and sure enough, her mother did give her a short disapproving glance, but she kept her mouth shut. Emma smiled her thanks and placed an arm around her.

"So, mother, where to next? What is the game plan here… Leo said something about the lake?" Emma asked, and looked at Leo already running ahead of them, while he kept turning around begging them to follow him to the lake. "Are you guys really going to let the little lion go kayaking by himself?"

"No, of course not sweetie, he is only 10! I do believe you have to be 15 or something before you can do it alone…" her mother answered, and then continued, "Your father is going to side paddle with him… at least that is what I think they called it."

Emma nodded. She was not sure kayaking was something she would like very much.

"So, what are we going to do then?" she asked her mother as they came to the lake area. There was a vast grassy area filled with all kinds of lawn games, croquet, Frisbees, and ball games of all kinds, but Emma really didn't want to do anything involving getting sweaty. It was warm out, and she was not much of a sports person.

"Oh, look, they have dress -up over there!" her mother suddenly exclaimed, pulling Emma with her towards what looked like a small stage and tables filled with fabric and costumes.

"Dress up?!" Emma exclaimed as she got closer. Why the f*** would she want to dress up? She thought to herself and then groaned as her mother started rummaging through a random pile of dresses. This could and would not go well. She looked around to see if someone had noticed them. She loved her mother dearly and they did have a pretty good mother-daughter relationship in Emma's opinion, but this was ridiculous and on the verge of becoming embarrassing.

She could see another family also looking at costumes and sighed in relief… until she noticed that they had a small girl around the same age as Leo.

Suddenly, Emma's thoughts were interrupted by a female voice, "So you girls want to dress up, maybe a princess or a queen, or a witch perhaps?"

Emma looked towards the sound of the voice and saw a young woman maybe only a few years older than herself. She had brown, wavy hair and brightly painted red lips. Emma looked at her curiously and thought, who is she?

As if reading her mind, the woman reached out her hand and introduced herself: "I'm Ruby, Ruby Wolfe. I'm in charge of this section, at least for now. I also have a few dance classes. If you've got any questions, don't hesitate to ask." Her voice was polite and welcoming and sort of rehearsed, but Emma guessed it was just the way you talked if you worked in a place like this.

"Wolfe?" Emma asked stupidly, "That is an unusual name." She gave the woman a curious smile.

"Emma?!" her mother exclaimed beside her, "Manners."

Emma rolled her eyes out of sight from her mother, but Ruby had seen it, and she winked at Emma, "Never mind! You're not the first to ask, but yes, that is my family name." She shrugged and pointed to the dress Emma was unknowingly still holding on to. "So, you want to try that one on?" Ruby asked.

"Ah no!... no thank you. I'm just looking… but I do believe my mother would like to be dressed as the Evil Queen. Will that be possible?" Emma replied, grinning at her mother.

Her mother looked at her with a frown, but then rolled her own eyes, saying, "Oh Emma, don't be such a spoilsport. We are here to have fun, you know."

Ruby dove into the pile and brought up a black dress that might befit an evil queen.

Her mother looked at it with a critical eye. "Maybe something more princess-like, oh… oh maybe Snow White! You got any sort of Snow White kind of thing?"

Emma rolled her eyes yet again at her mother's glee over this whole thing, but yes, her mother did have raven black hair just like Snow White. She closed off the chatter her mother had with Ruby and let her mind wander a bit. This place was okay, she guessed, but sometimes all the happy-go-lucky feelings everyone expected you to have in a place like this was just a tad too much. She looked over the array of accessories spread over another table and absentmindedly touched a few of them. There was even a bright red apple, and it made her remember that her mother was currently in the process of embarrassing the heck out of her by dressing up as freaking Snow White. Emma sighed, though she did pick up the apple and turned to her mother. She feared what she might see.

Sure enough, her mother was Snow White to a tee, though her hair might have been slightly longer than the Disney version of the character. Emma pulled out her phone, threw her mother the apple, and snapped a picture. "Don't forget the apple, mother!"

Mary Margaret smiled widely at her daughter while she took the pictures. This was fun, but she knew that she would never convince Emma to try on a princess dress. She sighed and walked over to her daughter, who still looked at the accessories on the table.

"Why don't you at least try this on?" She asked her daughter and picked up a tiara that had some slight resemblance to a curved swan neck in its design.

"The Swan Princess? Come on, mom." Emma rolled her eyes, but she did pick up the tiara and place it in her hair.

"There's a mirror over there," Ruby told her, and pointed to the end of the table. Fair enough, she was here to have fun, so why not? She looked at herself in the mirror and shrugged; it was pretty enough. So, she took a mirror selfie and even considered posting it on Facebook.

"Oy, someone is having fun are we not?" Will Scarlett's voice boomed over to them. Emma sighed and turned around. Sure enough, the bellhop boy came walking towards them.

"Don't you have some bags to move around or something?" Emma asked a bit rudely. She really did try to be friendly, but she just didn't want him thinking that she was falling for his attempt to charm her.

"Nope, got a few hours off the clock at the mo' so just strolling around enjoying the view." He grinned at her and then spotted Ruby next to Mary Margaret "'ello there lovely ladies!"

"Bugger off, Will," Ruby hissed, and cast an apologizing look to both Emma and Mary Margaret, both of whom seemed unoffended by his words. But Ruby came over to Emma and said, "Don't mind the cad over there; he thinks he's a bit of a charmer."

Emma looked at Ruby and noticed a slight blush on the other woman's face. She didn't comment on this, just tried to hide her smile. She brushed it off by saying: "it's cool, never mind, I can turn the noise off in my head if he gets too annoying to listen to." She knew that Will could hear her, and she looked straight at him, smiling…

"Women!" Will sighed in resignation, and then he spotted something behind them, and gave a big shout to someone. "Oy there mate, Killian, wait up, got time for a pint this afternoon?" He waved absentmindedly to the women and walked over to his mate.

Emma looked to the man in question, and hot damn. If that man wasn't hot as hell she didn't know who would be. He wore a tight fitting white t-shirt with a low-cut V-neck-giving perfect view to some dark curly chest hair-and a pair of equally tight faded jeans. His hair was dark, and he had neatly-trimmed scruff on his face. Emma could have sworn it had a tint of red in the sunlight.

She failed to notice what Will said further to his friend, but when Killian suddenly turned and locked eyes with her, she felt heat rise to her face and realized she might have been gaping just a bit. She averted her eyes and tried to focus on something else. Then she suddenly heard her name: "Swan, that's the lovely lady with the tiara."

Emma practically ripped the tiara off and threw it on the table, and then turned to her mother, who by now had a very peculiar look on her face, a smile both surprised and mischievous.

Emma rolled her eyes at her and whispered: "Don't even think about it mother, nope… stop it!"

Mary Margaret pulled out of it but kept a grin on her face as she turned to the two men and called, "You boys have a lovely afternoon." She gave them a wave and turned to her daughter saying, "Come now Emma, loosen up a little."

"Mom, please, no…" Emma groaned in embarrassment as her mother spoke to the men. She willed herself not to look again while thinking: heck they are by no means boys, mom, but whatever!

"I'm going to the cabin mom." Emma started to walk away, but then remembered her manners. She turned to an obviously amused Ruby and said politely, "Thanks for your help Ruby. I might join one of your dance classes. What is it you teach?"

Ruby gave a smile and said, "Oh, it's classic ballroom dance. I look forward to seeing you." Then she grinned a wolfish smile and waggled her eyebrows. "But you might also like Killian's class. It's a bit more modern with a twist."

Emma groaned slightly and shook her head. She had come to like Ruby in the short time she had spent with the woman, but come on, why could she not be left alone when it came to men? She did not want others to meddle in her interest or lack thereof in a certain hot as hell man walking around this place, nope never going to happen.

Ruby patted her back as Emma walked away.

"Thanks, I'll be seeing you around then, Ruby," Emma said and walked off, leaving her mother to get out of the damn Snow White dress herself.

The rest of the day, Emma kept busy with her family. Her younger brother had had so much fun with the kayaking that he kept talking and talking about it for the rest of the day. She was happy; it was going to be a fantastic vacation. She surprised herself with these positive thoughts-where did that come from? Then her traitorous mind showed her the image of one Killian Jones, the freaking hot dance instructor. Nope, she was so not going to join his class, though she might take up the Classic Ballroom dance class Ruby had. But her dreams that night was far from filled with ballroom dances. They were something more intense and upbeat, something that made her heart thrum in a way she had no idea it could, not even with Neil.

Kilian's POV:

Killian Jones was a man with a past filled with ghosts that still haunted his dreams. His late brother was always lingering in the back of his mind, still acting as his conscience. It had been a year since he had been killed in the line of duty. It had sent Killian on a downhill spiral, trying to drown his sorrow in too much rum and self-pity. Had it not been for his mate Will, he would have left this earth himself. Liam had been the only remaining constant in his life, and when he died so did the last pieces of his heart. Will had dragged his sorry drunken ass to do what he knew best-dance. Yes, Killian bloody Jones had been living and breathing dance in all its facets all his life. His mother had made sure her sons had been given the chance of learning the classic ballroom dances. Killian Jones had kept going and found his way in the dance world. Not going all the way to the elite, but using his talent to teach. It gave him more gratification than anything else. But after Liam had died, he had basically dropped the whole thing on the dance floor. Will got him back in the game again after several months of persuasion, and somehow Killian found his love for dancing again. Though he had lost his chance at getting his old dance instructor job back, he had kept going with his own training.

Two months ago, Will had come barging into his apartment with a piece of paper in his hand and exclaimed, "I found you a job, mate, a bloody job!"

Killian had looked at his best friend curiously but had not been able to answer before Will continued, "And will you believe it, it's dancing, what' ya say to that, mate? Am I a bloody fantastic friend or no'?" Will had grinned and waved the paper in Killian's face.

He had snagged the paper and looked at its headline: "Storybrooke Hillside Resort seeks dance instructor with talent for modern twist to the formal dance arts." Who the bloody hell wrote job advertisings this long, Killian had wondered. But as he read more, he just couldn't believe his luck. The requirements fit him to a tee and he looked up at his friend: "How… where… where did you find this mate?"

"Oh, I've landed meself a gig as a bellhop boy at that posh place too, would you believe it, and they want me, bloody Will Scarlett to lug the rich folks' bags and whatnot around." Will had been without a job for several weeks, so he had been job hunting and found this job posting for the resort. He had worked as a valet in a smaller hotel uptown and had good recommendations from that place.

Killian had risen from his seat, given his friend a (manly) hug and went to apply for the dance instructor job.

Now he had been working at the resort for a month, starting in June, and as the high season was rolling in with July approaching, he knew they would be busy. He had spent the first few weeks getting acquainted with the way things worked at the resort. The staff had their own bar hidden behind the big hotel building, and he had gotten to know some of the other staff, but with past ghosts still haunting his life, he had tried to keep people at a safe distance.

This day he had chosen to take a walk. He had no dance classes scheduled until the evening, so he might as well enjoy the weather. He rarely walked down to the lake area with all the games and activities; it was too crowded for his liking. But for some reason, he found himself walking in that direction anyway. When he got past the small stage with all the costumes, he shook his head. Why people thought that would be fun on a holiday he had no idea.

Suddenly, he heard the voice of Will Scarlett saying something about a pint of beer. That actually sounded rather tempting, so he turned to his friend and greeted him, "Oy there Will, what'ya doing down in this holiday fun and games hell hole?" That last part was whispered. He was supposed to show support for whatever went on in this place, but he and Will secretly hated all the happy-go-lucky smiling faces on some of the guests.

"Just catching up with Ruby, and I got the afternoon off, so I'm free for a pint or two before I clock into the evening shift later," Will explained waved his hand aimlessly towards the dress-up area. Sure enough, one of his fellow dance instructors was currently in charge of this freak show. Killian had quickly caught up on the vibes going on between Ruby and Will, but the two mates had not talked much about it.

"Ah I see, Ruby, hmm…" Killian wiggled his eyebrows suggestively while looking over to where said woman was standing. She was with a young blond woman in some nice fitting jean shorts. Killian crocked his head a little, looking closer. She was pretty, that much was certain, though he could not see her face clearly.

Apparently, Will had picked up on his friend's interest in the woman as he said, "Swan, that's the lovely lady with the tiara." Killian watched as Swan? practically ripped the tiara off her head while she looked right back at him with huge eyes. She was too far away for him to see what colour they were, but he hoped to find out. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. What the bloody hell was going on with him? He was not here to pursue any form of love interest, though the lovely Swan sure did look stunning and like someone he might actually want to get to know more.

"Swan, you say?" Killian asked his friend.

Will nodded and explained: "Her name is Emma I think, just everyone calls her Swan… why, I haven't got the foggiest idea, but she is a lovely lass ain't she?"

Killian shot his friend a glare that told him to leave it, but Will just shrugged and grinned, then waved to the woman currently in a Snow White costume. Killian missed what she had said to them; he just wanted to get the hell out of here.

"Come on mate, or we might not get to that pint," Killian grumbled and walked off, choosing not to look back at the blond woman. But the image of her with the tiara lingered in his mind for the rest of the day. Even during his evening dance class, his focus slipped a couple of times, and he tried to wave it off by claiming to be tired. He hoped the guests would have fun in his class either way. Seeing some of the younger women titter together at the end while sending him doe eyed glances, he just sighed and bid them a good evening. Then he hiked back to his cabin. He had gotten one of the most well-hidden staff cabins. He liked that very much. Tomorrow would be filled with yet another gaggle of guests wanting to learn the finer arts of dancing. He wondered why his dreams were filled with blond-haired swans wearing tiaras.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> slowly building up to them actually starting to talk and be more together... (def. more of that in chapter 4 ;) )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: chapter 3... hope you like it... 
> 
> Enjoy...

Chapter 3

The next day was filled with family fun and activities. Emma was surprised to find that she actually enjoyed herself being with her family like this. In the morning, her brother had convinced her to join him by the lake and go kayaking. Their parents went in search of some alone time, probably something sickly romantic; they were still lovey-dovey romantically in love, sometimes to the point of them being embarrassing to be with. But now she walked with her brother to the lake, and when they got close, he sprinted off towards the place they kept the kayaks.

Emma watched him greet the men in charge of the outdoor activities; he had obviously talked with them the day before. Emma smiled at this; her brother was a talking machinegun at times, especially if he was excited about something. Leo was practically bouncing up and down as he waited for Emma to join him.

"Emma!" He shouted and waved his hand to her, "Come on, hurry up!" Emma grinned at him and gave an apologetic shrug to the man Leo had talked to.

"So, this is the slow sister, I imagine." The man in charge grinned down at Leo and winked, then turned to Emma and introduced himself. "I'm Graham, and my buddy over there is August. We are in charge of any outdoor type of activity, so anything you might want to do, come to us. We can make almost anything happen."

Emma gave a polite smile. It all sounded so rehearsed, but she shrugged it off and offered her hand in greeting. "I'm Emma, and yes, this little ball of energy is my brother. I think he wants to go kayaking with me. Though I've never done anything like that before, so…?" Emma looked at him hoping he would be able to help her.

"No worries, we can help you out. Let's go find some gear for you first." Graham nodded towards a shed that held all the lifejackets and paddles needed for kayaking.

Emma tried to pay attention to the safety instruction Graham gave her and Leo—well, Leo had heard it all yesterday with their father-but Emma made sure he paid attention again. While they worked on getting their life jackets on, she could not help but notice that Graham might have been slightly too eager to help her get into hers. He shot her a charming smile from time to time, and sometimes a hand lingered a bit too long on her arm as he spoke. Emma shook it off as being overly-friendly, but she did appreciate his good looks and, in a way, his charm. But she really wasn't going to pursue any love interest.

When the time came to get into the kayaks, Emma felt her nerves hit with full force. She looked to her brother; he had tried this before, so he jumped in the vessel far too quickly for Emma's liking. But she pulled herself together and sat down in the kayak. She kept it steady, and Graham suggested she go for a solo ride first just to get a feel for how it moved through the water. After several minutes, Emma actually enjoyed herself. She shot her brother a big smile, paddled over to him, and held on to his kayak so Graham could link the two of them together.

Over the next hour, Emma had a great time with her brother. Though there were 11 years between them, they still had a pretty good relationship. When they finally came back to the dock, August helped them get out of the kayaks without falling into the water.

"There you are Miss, back on dry land." August smiled at Emma and held her hand a second longer than necessary.

Emma pulled her hand away with a smile and said, "Thank you. We had fun, didn't we, Leo?" She turned to her brother who had basically gotten up onto the dock by himself.

"We sure did, Mr. Booth." Leo gave a huge grin at him and continued, "My sister was actually pretty good at paddling." Leo gave his sister a big smile and scurried off the dock, pulling off his lifejacket.

"Thanks, I'll just go catch up with my brother then." Emma sidestepped around August trying to avoid further talk. The damn too good-looking men around this place were getting under her skin.

She could practically feel his eyes on her backside as she walked to give back her lifejacket.

Graham was there talking with Leo, and he greeted Emma with, "Hi, I hear you guys had fun out on the water! That's good, maybe we can tempt you with other activities later today. There is a scheduled hike this afternoon to a viewpoint overlooking the lake."

Okay, these guys sure did try to sell their stuff here, Emma thought to herself.

Emma could see that Leo thought this sounded cool, so she quickly said, "You will have to take that up with your father at lunch." Emma gave Graham her lifejacket and added, "Thank you, it was fun."

Graham gave her a smile and said, "You're welcome back anytime."

Leo waved goodbye to August and Graham and sprinted off to their cabin. Emma hoped he would know the way, but she knew he was a resourceful kid, so she did not worry too much about it. She had barely walked out of the lake area when she met Ruby walking towards where she knew the dance classes were taking place.

"Hi Ruby, are you going to a dance class?" Emma asked with interest. She liked the other woman, and she had thought about going to one of the classes anyway.

"Hi, Emma," Ruby said with a smile, and added, "Not exactly, just going to do some prep for the class I have this afternoon. Maybe I will see you there?"

Emma gave her a smile. "Why not? I've been kayaking this morning so why not dancing in the afternoon?" Emma joked and waved towards the water where both Graham and August were still visible. When they saw her looking their way, they both waved with big grins on their faces.

"Oh, you've met the two mountain men we keep around this place," Ruby joked with a laugh and nodded towards the lake area. Emma grinned and shrugged her shoulders. Ruby added with a smirk, "I think you got their undivided attention, but no worries, they really are harmless flirts." She waggled her eyebrows at this and gave Emma a wink.

Emma laughed at this and replied, "Not interested! Sure, they are fine-looking and all, but nope, not at the moment. I… well, it's complicated…" She trailed off. She did not know Ruby that well yet, so she didn't want to go into too many details on her past love failures, not now at least.

"Ain't it always, sister?" Ruby sighed and patted Emma on the shoulder, then asked, "So will I see you this afternoon, at my dance class?!"

"Oh sure, I actually think I'll give it a go. I've danced a bit in school, but nothing serious," Emma said with a smile and then promised Ruby she would be there for the class.

Then she went in search of her brother.

Later that afternoon:

Emma went to Ruby's dance class alone; her parents took Leo to be part of a Nerf gun party. That was definitely not for her.

She arrived at the dance studio a bit early, so she had a chance to talk a little with Ruby while she hooked up the music.

"Do you expect there to be a lot of people joining?" Emma asked. It was an open class that people could just join whenever they wanted. They had other classes for the more advanced dancers that one had to sign up for.

"Nah, not too many. It's still a bit early in the season, and the guests who just arrived the other day are still figuring out what is here," Ruby said as she hooked up her iPhone to the sound system.

"Oh, that's good. It's been ages since I did any dancing, so I'm not sure I can keep up," Emma laughed and fiddled with her hair hanging over her shoulder.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Honestly, some of the guests have never danced and let's say it's rather fun to watch sometimes… but don't tell my boss I said that." Ruby grinned at her; she had come to like Emma in the few times they had met. It was always nice to be able to bond with someone new from time to time.

Emma sighed in relief at this and then wandered aimlessly around the dance studio. She watched as the other guests arrived. She greeted them all politely and hoped that she would be teamed up with someone who at least knew a little dancing. She'd like her toes to be intact once this class was over, thank you very much.

When the class started, Emma was paired up with an elderly gentleman who introduced himself. "Hello there miss, I'm Marco Geppetto. So have you danced before?" He gave her a big smile.

"Hi, eh… well yes, I have a little, in school," Emma clarified, then added, "My name is Emma Nolan, but everyone calls me Swan." She hoped the older man at least knew how to dance, but she didn't want to be too rude and ask him. He seemed nice enough.

When the class was about to start, he added with a smile, "And don't worry Miss Swan, I do know what I'm doing here." He laughed when Emma sighed in relief and then laughed with him. It was going to be a fun class for sure.

As the dancing progressed, Marco told her about himself, and he definitely had stories to tell. In the middle of their conversation, he told her, "And my boy August actually works here in this resort. He was the one suggesting I get some vacation time. We can spend time together when he is off duty," He smiled as he said this, suddenly very thoughtful. Emma didn't want to pry but he just sighed and continued, "We grew apart some years ago, you know. It was more or less my own fault and then he took off traveling the world. Last year he came back home a new man and we have reconnected." Marco smiled fondly at the memory.

"That's nice… I actually met your son down by the lake this morning. I went kayaking with my younger brother," Emma told him with a smile.

Marco smiled even wider at this, and then waggled his eyebrows, "Ah, so you've met my boy then, a strapping young man don't you think? He will make some pretty lass such as yourself very happy one day."

Emma tensed a little at his suggestion but tried to give him a genuine smile and said, "Oh, you try to flatter me, don't you? Sure, your boy is a pretty fine-looking man, but at the moment I'm not looking… sorry." She gave a shrug and hoped he would not pursue this further. Luckily, he let it go and kept their conversation on dancing, also asking her about her time in school and her family. Emma had a marvelous time dancing that afternoon.

When the guests started to move out of the dance studio, she hung back a little. She hoped that Ruby was free to do something this afternoon.

"So, do you have more classes today?" Emma asked Ruby.

"Nope, all free to do whatever I want to do… Hey, would you like to go to the village a few miles from here? Storybrooke's finest diner is owned by my grandmother. She makes some killer hot chocolate!" Ruby exclaimed. She liked the idea of spending time with Emma.

Emma told her that she would love to go, they would just have to find her parents and let them know, Ruby nodded at this and started cleaning up the dance studio.

While Ruby worked, Emma found a chair and sat down with her phone to play Angry Birds. Suddenly, she heard a male voice. At first, she thought it was Will coming to visit Ruby, but when she looked up, she saw it was Will's friend, Killian. Wasn't that his name? She tried not to ogle him too much, but hell if he didn't look just as fine as he had the day before. She kept pretending to play on her phone as he spoke to Ruby.

Apparently, they were scheduled to do a show performance in a talent show at the end of the season and they needed to make plans for this. As she listened, they also talked about a charity event they had been booked to do a dance at, which was in two weeks.

"So, you got any talents there love?" She heard Killian's accented voice close to her. When Emma looked up, she realized he had actually walked over to her. His eyes crinkled in a smile, and he scratched behind his ear, waiting for her reply.

"Eh," Emma said, cringing inside at how stupid that really sounded. Then she shook her head and said, "I don't think that is my kind of thing."

"Oh, come now Emma, didn't you tell me yesterday that you danced in school plays or something?" Ruby chimed in, with a huge grin on her face.

Emma groaned, and said, "That was a long time ago, so no thank you…. I'll let my brother know about the talent show, though. He does know some neat magic tricks." She tried to shrug it of and hoped he didn't push anymore. He just gave her a smile and small wink.

"So, what are you lovely ladies doing this afternoon?" he asked.

"We're going to Granny's, showing Emma where to buy the best hot chocolate," Ruby explained with a grin, then added, laughing, "You can join us if you want, Jones…"

Emma could not believe her new friend. Seriously? She did not need this right now. Ruby just grinned at her discomfort and then winked at her.

"Sorry lasses, I've got a dance class soon. We could do it another day perhaps?" He asked with way too much hope in his voice for Emma's liking, but she gave him a polite smile and tried not to stare too much at the open v-neck in his button-up shirt.

She turned to Ruby and asked, "Ready to go then?"

Ruby nodded and bid farewell to Killian. Then, the two new friends found Emma's parents and told them that they would go to Granny's in the village. Emma's mother smiled at this; she had hoped that her daughter might find some new friends on this vacation. When she parted with them, she said, "Have fun girls. Don't do anything crazy!"

Emma rolled her eyes and shot Ruby an apologetic smile, hoping that she too knew about annoying mothers.

On their way to Ruby's car, Ruby said, "Don't worry. My Granny is the same, you know. All mothers, or mother figures, are like that, I guess…" When Emma shot her a puzzled look she explained, "My parents died when I was 5 years old, and Granny raised me. It was a long time ago, I can hardly remember them at all…" Ruby shrugged, waving it off.

Emma did add, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Then the two friends found Granny's and Ruby ordered two hot chocolates.

Emma asked, "Could you make it with a sprinkle of cinnamon, please?" She looked to the elderly lady everyone apparently called Granny with a sheepish smile; she knew her request sometimes raised a few eyebrows. But Granny only nodded her head and went on to prepare their drinks. They found a booth to sit, and they talked and learned new things about each other. It had been a while since Emma had actually had a good girlfriend to talk to. This vacation was turning out to be just awesome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: hopefully the next chapter will be up within a day or two... still not back from beta... but will post as soon as I get it back. Let me know what you think in a review... thanks


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well I tried to replica a famous hot dance scene from Dirty Dancing between Emma and Killian... I hope it works... (let me know in a review..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: It's a short chapter, but promise you the next one will be up in a short while... and it's a bit longer...

Chapter 4

Emma spent the next few days pretty much the same way, doing all sort of things with her family and joining a few of Ruby's dance classes. She was not eager to try out the dance class Killian had. She had seen him around the dance studio a few times and exchanged a few pleasantries, but Emma really didn't want to get too close to the man. He was one heck of a fine-looking man for sure, but she honestly didn't need any new romance in her life, not yet.

One evening, Ruby invited her to join her at their employee bar. Emma was surprised that she was even allowed to come to the place. When asked, Ruby explained, "On the record it is not allowed to entertain guests in the employee bar, but no one in this place rats out on things that happens there. We've seen a few guests from time to time, so no worries."

Emma walked with Ruby to the bar, and she saw the crooked homemade sign by the door; someone had called it "The Rabbit Hole." She laughed at this and joked with Ruby, "So we're following the white rabbit now, are we?"

Ruby laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly I do not know where that name even comes from." She opened the door and led them inside.

The air was heavy with body heat and she cringed at the smell of stale beer hit her nose. Well she had been to a few places worse than this in her college years. It did have atmosphere, that was for sure, and the dance floor was placed right in the middle of things. When Ruby saw her watching the dance floor, she explained over the loud music, "We do like to dance here you know."

The two women walked to the bar and each ordered a rum and coke. The bartender looked a bit crazy, if one asked Emma. She raised a silent eyebrow in question to Ruby once he turned away from them. Ruby waved it off and explained, "That would be Jefferson. He does seem a bit barmy, if you know what I mean, but he is friendly and he makes some killer drinks and runs this place to perfection."

Emma only nodded in understanding, then turned her back to the bar and looked around. She spotted several waiters and other staff members that she had met in the last 5 days she had been in this place. It really was a nice place to have a vacation, she had to admit that.

Killian walked with Will to the staff bar; they both had the evening off and hoped to find some fun up there. It was usually a place to hang out and just have a nice time, even dance a little.

When they walked in, they scanned the room, and Will exclaimed, "Oy, look there mate! The lady Swan is here with our Ruby."

He pointed to the bar, and Killian joked back, "Don't you mean your Ruby, mate?"

Will shot a dirty look towards his friend, then cracked a smile and retorted, "That makes the lady Swan your lass, don't it?"

"Bugger off, mate, she is a bloody guest at the resort. Not sure the Evil Queen would be too happy about me fraternizing with resort guests. You know that, you bloody wanker," Killian shot back and slapped his mate on the arm. They had a secret code for the resort owner Regina Mills. Though she was a fair boss and all, she did tend to have some bossy tendencies from time to time, so the Evil Queen was the name they had picked for her. It had become a game of sorts to give secret nicknames to the staff and even some of the guests, when no one was around.

Before Killian could protest, Will had dragged him over to the bar and greeted the women.

"'ello there lasses, your evening just got better ye know," Will stated smugly. He placed himself next to Ruby and waved to Jefferson for a drink.

Killian saw Ruby roll her eyes at Will, but when she thought no one was looking, she did let her eyes linger on Will's face. Emma leaned over and whispered something in Ruby's ear that made Ruby abruptly turn her head to her. Killian didn't hear what was said between the friends, but he gathered it must have been something about Will and the attraction that buzzed between the two.

Killian sat down next to Will and gave his drink order to Jefferson. He tried not to look too obvious as he studied the lady Swan, as he had come to enjoy calling Emma. She was a vision and obviously not very interested in any romantic involvements. It suited him fine; he was not looking either. Well at the moment he was looking, he smiled to himself while taking a sip of his drink. He was bloody pathetic to say the least. He could almost hear his brother's voice in his head saying, "You got to pull yourself together brother! If you like the lass so much ask her out, or hell even better, ask her to dance with you, you wanker!"

He rubbed his face in his hands, trying to get his brother's annoying voice out of his head. When he turned his head towards Emma again, he saw her watching him with a knowing smirk on her lips. He raised an eyebrow at her silently asking, "What?"

Emma had seen Killian deep in thought and she knew he might be as troubled a soul as her. She had no idea why she felt so drawn to the man, besides the obvious hotness aspect of it all. But it was something else far deeper, it scared the crap out of her, and she tried to keep a distance from him. Ruby and Will made that sort of impossible once Ruby plucked up the courage to ask Will out on the dance floor. Emma took a large sip of her drink when she saw Killian move over next to her.

"Hi," she said with a polite smile, turning to watch Ruby and Will out on the dance floor. They moved in what might not be called standard ballroom dancing, due to their nearly-obscene closeness. She rolled her eyes at her new friends; she hoped that the both of them would finally be able to admit they liked one another. "Have they always been like this with one another?" she asked, hoping he would know what she meant.

"Oh, hell yes. We met Ruby a month ago when we started working out here at the resort. From day one, they've been making googly eyes at one another; it's sickening at times… I honestly have wanted to bash their heads together so they would come to their senses…" He turned to the couple on the dance floor and chuckled while drinking from his rum, "But I guess they are figuring it out by themselves now."

Emma only nodded and tried not to focus on the way the muscles tensed on his arms as he drank, or how his long fingers wrapped around the glass in his hand. She shook her head, trying to get her mind to clear, but it was damn difficult to have a normal conversation with the man in front of her.

"So, you dance, lady Swan?" Killian suddenly asked with a crooked smile, nodding out towards the dance floor.

"Nope, not like that at least. I know a bit of ballroom dancing. You know, I've been taking a couple of Ruby's classes," Emma shrugged hoping he would leave it alone. But apparently her prayers had not been heard.

"Well, it's only a matter of choosing a partner who knows what he is doing," he smiled smugly at her and held his hand out for her to take. She looked at the hand in front of her and then thought "why not." When she placed her hand in his, she tried to ignore the jolt of electricity running up her arms.

Soon, she was pulled into the sensual rhythm of the music and felt Killian wrap his arms around her, sweeping her into the dance. Okay, this was way off from what she usually did when dancing. She held onto his shoulders and tried to relax into the dance but being this close to someone like Killian Jones was not making it any easier. She was just a plain girl from a rich family with a broken heart (that Neal so effortlessly had stomped on, on his way out of her life). She tensed a bit at the thought.

"Relax, love. Feel the music, follow my lead," Killian whispered into her ear. His hot breath on her neck sent spikes of heat down her spine. Sure, that would make her relax…nope, not a chance in hell. She did try though, and in the end, she started to get the hang of the rhythm and movement of the dance. She smiled up at him, then instantly regretted it-her breath caught in her throat at the intensity in his eyes as he led her through the heated dance. She quickly averted her eyes to focus on his shoulder instead.

When the music ended, she tried to keep herself steady on her feet, but somehow her legs felt like jelly, and she accepted his offered arm as he led her to the bar. Here he ordered new drinks for them and sat down next to her.

"That was fun, was it not?" Killian asked after taking a gulp of his drink. Emma only nodded; she was not sure that she trusted her voice just now. She looked around for Ruby, hoping that her friend could save her somehow. But Ruby was nowhere to be found and neither was Will. Go figure, the girl might have gotten lucky, Emma thought.

Emma thanked Jefferson for the drink when he came with their order. She needed it to calm herself down. And she tried very hard to focus only on her drink and not the man next to her. She needed to get out of here. She couldn't stand the stuffiness of the bar anymore. And she was not so sure about what had happened between them when they had danced before. She had to do what she did pretty much every time someone came too close to her; she ran.

After quickly finishing her drink in silence, she said, "Thanks for the drink and dancing. I'll… I'll just go… now… home… I mean to our cabin… you know… I…"

She silently cursed her lack of vocabulary at the moment and never waited for his reply. Her feelings inside made no sense and she needed time to think, time to breathe. When she stepped out, she inhaled the cool night air deeply.

She had only taken a few steps away from the bar when she heard, "Oy wait up Swan, why are you running? I thought we had a great time?" Killian walked out of the bar with purposeful strides. He stopped in front of her and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"I'm not running…I'm tired. I need to sleep, so not running… I'll see you around. Goodnight, Killian. I did have fun tonight. Thanks for the dance lesson in there, too." She smiled a little at this; it sure had been a learning experience for her to be so close to someone while dancing.

"Well, it did look like running to me, ya know… but you're welcome, love, anytime. Just let me know if you need more dancing classes. I might be able to teach you a thing or two that our Ruby might not." He gave her a bold smile and a wink while running his hand through his hair, and Emma tried not to notice that the movement pulled up the t-shirt he wore, showing of a thin strip of skin. She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking the image out of her head and tried to find a suitable grimace when she looked back up at him.

"I had fun, and maybe, just maybe I'll take you up on that offer, okay?" She tossed him half a bone here, and his smile told her that he took it willingly. A boyish smile came to his face and showed off small dimples at his cheeks. Stop looking, woman! She scolded herself, and then waved a final goodbye to him, reassuring him that she was okay on her own from here. She did not want her parents to see her being walked home by the hot dance instructor. She knew her mother would have a field day with that if it ever happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: anyone knowing Emma knows she will try to run at first... but don't worry she will come around... again next chapter will soon be up.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AN: longer chapter and somehow she is not that successful in avoiding Killian... hope you like this...

Chapter 5

The next day, Emma tried to avoid the dance studio, but her brother had dragged her up there when he realized there was a street dance class. It had surprised Emma to know that it was Will holding the class that had been scheduled a few times over the following weeks, so she asked him about it when they got to the studio.

"Oh, well, I've known Killian for ages, you know, we've been best mates since grad school, so old mates we are you see. And he sort of dragged me to this dance place once, and honestly, I thought dancing was these pompous ballroom dances, but he showed me a class with hip-hop/street dance. The wanker showed me that dancing could be more than that... I'll never be as good as him, but heck, when Regina Mills heard that I had a thing for street dancing, she offered me some extra hours if I'd do a few classes over the summer. She thought it would give the whole dance department some new perspective, you see… she is a smart woman that Mills lady." Will shrugged it off and got ready for the class. It seemed there were other young boys and girls that wanted to be cool with the street dancing.

Emma found a chair with a few other parents and watched with amusement when Will started the dance class. It was surprisingly easy for the fast-talking Brit to keep the kids' attention and teach them a thing or two about the dance. Who would have known that Will Scarlett had a knack for teaching kids, Emma thought to herself. In the week they'd been at the resort, she had learned that Will was talkative and spoke whatever was on his mind, no matter who he spoke to. Yet, he always kept the tone polite and courteous when he greeted the guests and took care of their luggage. Emma started to see why Ruby might find the man interesting. Thinking of Ruby, she had not heard from her all morning. They had started texting one another during the day, sort of starting what one might call a friendship. Emma liked this; new friends were good.

When the class was almost done, Ruby came to the dance studio, looking a little tired but with a big grin on her face. She sat down next to Emma and whispered, "Morning sunshine, you've been up early I see."

Emma shrugged and pointed to her brother, explaining, "The little lion wanted to learn how to street dance."

"Ah, I see, and he is pretty good. Guess he's got the rhythms from his sister. She is a fine dancer herself." Ruby winked at her, and grinned when Emma scowled back. She was sure as hell not a good dancer. She did okay, but beyond that, nope, she would never be a big ballroom dancer. She liked it for sure, but she would never want to dance as a career.

"You're looking mighty happy this morning; did you have fun last night?" Emma asked with a grin and eyebrow waggle.

Ruby shrugged and tried to hide the smile on her face. "I might, and it seemed as if you did too, getting mighty comfy dancing with our Killian Jones there last night." When Emma looked at her in surprise, she added, "Hmm, we saw you. We had not left, just sort of took a break from the heat. When we came back, we saw the two of you dancing- mighty close, I might add." Ruby gave her a wink at this.

Emma groaned and hid her face in her hands, "Shit you saw us, I thought the two of you had gone to do, eh well some horizontal dancing or whatever…" Emma tried to grin smugly at her friend but it failed miserably.

"FYI we did do that later, but we did see you and Killian in some hot Dirty Dancing kinda moves you know… and boy you looked hot together… my my…" Ruby waved her hands as if she was fanning herself.

"Shut up! Nothing happened, if you really have to know. We danced, yes, that's it…" Emma stated then smiled at her friend and said, "And good for you and Will. I'm happy you came to your senses with the man. I know I've only known you for a week, but heck, one would have been able to cut stones with the tension sometimes between the two of you. And Killian did tell me that you've been like this all summer. From what I can tell, he's a keeper."

Ruby tried to look offended and surprised at Emma's statement, but she failed to hide the huge grin on her face and then shot back at Emma, "Well I hope the two of you will also come to your senses before this summer is over, lass." Emma just shook her head and gave up even arguing with her friend.

"So, you got another dance class after this is over?" Emma asked and waved out to the group of children still dancing. She had not seen any of Ruby's dance classes scheduled, so she was curious.

"Nope, just rehearsing with Killian. We were hired to do a dance show for this charity event in downtown Storybrooke, in two weeks' time… we need to practice." When Emma looked at Ruby in surprise, Ruby explained, "Well, did you know that Regina Mills-Hood once was the mayor of Storybrooke, before she met Robin and when she was married to her first husband, Daniel Mills? He had the resort site before, you know. When he died, she took off her mayor's hat and stepped down. She took over the resort and took it on as her life project of sorts." Ruby shrugged at this. It was just the main details she knew of this story, "Well each year they have this charity event that collects money for the orphanage up in the old nunnery. Regina Mills is in charge of the whole thing."

"And you and Killian have been asked to do a show dance for this… why? I mean, she has just hired Killian this year… I gather she knew you from before, since you've lived with your Granny in Storybrooke, so…?" Emma asked curiously.

"Well, she asked me if I wanted to do this, and if I thought one of the other dance instructors would mind doing this with me. When she asked a few weeks ago, I thought that Killian might fit into this deal, and he said yes, thank God. Not sure that Regina Mills wanted a street dance version to this fancy charity show she is putting together." Ruby laughed at this, and winked at Emma, "And you know yourself what a great dancer he is, don't ya?"

"Shut up," Emma whispered, but failed to hide the smile when she thought about their dancing the night before. Ruby shoved her good-naturedly and said, "Oh, I will. You can always make a dance appearance with him at the talent show they have at the end of the season, you know."

"Not gonna happen, sister… Nope," Emma stated with a laugh then spotted the very same man they had just been talking about walk into the dance studio. He waved to Will, who was saying his last praises to the group of kids. Emma tried not to stare too much when he spotted her and Ruby and then walked over to them. When she realized that the only vacant chair was right next to her, she sat up straight trying not to be bothered. She gave him a friendly smile as he sat down next to her.

"Greetings, lady Swan, how are you this fine morning?" He asked with an overly British accent.

Emma tried to shake the feeling inside of her, and just shrugged and answered, "Just fine thank you… eh Ruby here tells me you and her are going to dance at a charity event in a couple of weeks." Emma said politely, trying to make small talk with the man.

"Ay, that we are. We practice after this class. You are free to watch us if you want, maybe spot our mistakes, eh?" Killian asked and gave her a smug smile.

Emma suddenly felt a bit trapped, and she started to shake her head no, but then Ruby exclaimed, "Oh would you? It's one thing to do the dancing alone, but we have no idea what it really looks like from the viewer's side. We could use some help with that…"

When Emma started to protest, Ruby said firmly, "You are a great dancer, you know. You know your way around a ballroom dance, so you can easily see if we make some mistakes. I mean it's not the grand nationals or anything, but we want it to be perfect anyways."

Emma tried to come up with even more protests, but then her brother came bouncing over to them and exclaimed, "Emma, this was so much fun! Did you see me… did you…? I got the hang of that neat dance trick Mr. Scarlett showed us… did you see that?"

He smiled big time when Emma nodded and confirmed, "Sure did kiddo, you were great at it."

"Hi, Miss Ruby," Leo greeted Emma's friend, and then turned to Killian. Emma groaned at this, thinking now what?

"Who are you, mister?" Leo looked at Killian with curiosity.

"I'm Killian Jones, I'm a friend of your s…. eh, your dance instructor there. He is a good one ain't he?" Killian grinned, hoping that no one actually noticed that he had been about to say "sister." He glanced sideways at Emma, noticing her trying to hide her discomfort by picking up her bag and rising from her seat.

"Come on, kid, we need to find our parents," Emma said and reached for Leo's hand.

Then Ruby spoke up, "So no fail spotting help today, I guess?" She looked hopefully at her friend.

Emma groaned and finally gave in, "Okay, I'll come help you guys out for sure. I just need to get this little firecracker to our parents. Be back in a few minutes, okay?"

"Yes, oh thank you Emma! We owe you." Ruby said in joy and quickly hugged her friend, shooing her out the door with her brother in tow.

Killian stood back with a stupid grin on his face. The lady Swan would grace them with her presence this rehearsal. Why had they not thought about getting help like this before? Ruby cast him a curious grin when he stood there for several minutes before getting their music set up for rehearsal.

Five minutes later, Emma walked into the dance studio, and they had already started practicing. She waved to them and let them know she was there, then found a chair and sat down to watch. They were good, that much was certain. Though they might only had known each other for little over a month, they had this awesome energy between them when they danced the very classical waltz.

When they ended the dance, they came over to Emma to talk and found a bottle of water to drink. It was getting hot in the studio even though it was air-conditioned. Emma failed to hear Ruby's first question as she found herself slightly preoccupied by how Killian gulped down the water. Only when Ruby placed a hand on her shoulder did she look at her friend, saying, "Sorry Ruby, what? Oh well, you two are the pros here, really. I… I… I'm not even sure I've got anything to add." Emma knew she was grasping at straws here- looking at her friend, she knew that Ruby knew it, too.

"Oh, I know you can help," Ruby stated. "You just need to focus on our feet and general posture." She gave Emma a wink and leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Try to focus on me too, I need more pointers on how to do this shit than he does."

Emma gaped at her friend, trying to kill her with a look, honestly. She was not even trying to ogle the man, god almighty, have mercy. She looked at Killian now finished drinking, seemingly oblivious about what Ruby had whispered to Emma, thank God for that. She gave him a feeble smile and then said, "Okay, I'll try, but this first was pretty good, I think. From the top… or whatever you say when starting over." She laughed at her own joke and smiled when Killian laughed with her.

Killian sort of expected her to be a bit flustered when asked to help them out. She did seem a little standoffish from time to time, but then small things like this joke would pop up and he would get a glimpse of who Emma Swan really was. He nodded his thanks and asked Ruby to find their next number. He tried not to notice how Emma followed him with her eyes as he moved into position for the next dance. The lady Swan was getting under his skin somehow and he didn't really mind it, a fact that surprised him quite a bit.

During the next dance, Emma tried to pay extra attention to all the things she had learned in Ruby's dance classes. By the end of the rehearsal, she was actually able to put into words some little changes they could do to improve the dance.

As they cleaned up the studio, they talked about various activities going on at the resort and Emma started to feel more at ease with the both of them, especially Killian. The tension from last night had dissipated while they had spent this time together.

They all walked out of the studio and Killian turned towards his cabin somewhere behind the studio. Ruby wanted to walk Emma home to her cabin, just to be able to have some girl talk with her new friend.

While they walked and talked, Ruby chatted endlessly about the upcoming charity event. It was apparently the big thing in Storybrooke.

"And you know, I already found the perfect dress. It sort of screams retro, kinda 50's, but it's got the right kind of style for the dance we're doing, and….. oh bloody mother of… shit that hurt…" Suddenly, Ruby had slipped and twisted her ankle on a crooked step stone on their path, and now she sat down with her fingers wrapped around an obviously painful ankle.

"Shit, Ruby, are you okay?" Emma worried as she sat down to help assess her injury. It did look rather bad.

"Shit, this hurts..." Ruby groaned in pain, and then tried to find her phone in her pocket. "Here, call Killian and ask him to find some ice." She unlocked the phone and found Killian's number, then gave the phone to Emma.

"Hi, Killian, it's Emma. Ruby has hurt her ankle, think it's serious and we need ice… yes we are not that far from my parents' cabin, A7…. Good you know where that is… come quick…" Emma hung up and tried to help Ruby to sit more comfortably.

Within 10 minutes, Killian came sprinting down the lawn with Will in tow and a wrapped-up icepack. "Bloody hell lass, you okay there?" Killian asked when he saw how much pain Ruby was in. He gently placed the icepack around Ruby's now very swollen ankle.

She hissed in pain and Will crouched down on the other side of her, taking her hand. "It'll be alright love," he said gently as he rubbed his thumb over her hand. Emma smiled at this; they had obviously become a couple since last night.

"If you guys can help her get to our cabin, we got a patio and a deck chair she can sit in while we figure out what to do," Emma suggested and ran ahead of them to prepare the deck chair; she knew they had pillows there, too.

Her parents were not at home it seemed, but she knew them and they would not mind the friends crashing on their patio. With very little effort, Killian and Will had moved Ruby to the more comfortable chair and found several pillows that they placed under her still-throbbing ankle. She winced in pain several times and each time, Will would get this pained look on his own face and say, "It's gonna be alright there love!"

Emma and Killian cast a knowing grin to each other; they both saw very clearly that Ruby and Will had moved from just friends to something more.

While they sat there, the talk turned to the upcoming charity event, and Ruby almost cried when she realized she would not be able to dance. "Oh no, this is not good, the Evil Queen will not be happy about this!"

"The Evil Queen?" Emma asked, "Who is that?"

"That would be Regina Mills. It's these two knuckleheads who have started naming our boss that, and just about everyone else in this place gets their own fairytale nickname. Mine is apparently Red Riding Hood, 'cause of my last name," Ruby rolled her eyes at this but shot Will a sweet smile anyway.

Emma laughed. "So what would my name be?" She asked, still laughing because she could clearly picture how the two friends would be bickering over fairytale names for staff and guests.

"That would be the Swan Princess, of course," Killian explained with a smirk and looked straight into her eyes.

Emma gulped down some air and tried to pull away from his very, very, blue eyes, when Will chimed in with, "You got the name and the hair, so it fits you perfectly lass."

Emma rolled her eyes but laughed anyway. These new friends were the best part about this vacation.

As the friends sat there, still not sure what to do about the charity dance, Emma saw her parents walking towards them, accompanied by none other than Regina and Robin Mills-Hood.

"Look, we got company!" Emma pointed towards the group and waved at them, letting them know they were there.

When her parents saw her, they quickened their pace and looked rather surprised at the fact that their patio was occupied.

"Hi mom, dad…" Emma walked over to them, pointed to Ruby and explained, "Ruby twisted her ankle, and we were nearby so hope you don't mind us setting her up here until we figure out what is happening with her. Think it's pretty bad." Emma shrugged. She was no doctor, so she really didn't know.

"Hi Emma, of course… no worries… let me take a look." Her mother waved her excuses off and walked over to Ruby. "I'm no doctor or nurse, but I'm a schoolteacher, so I've seen my fair share of twisted and sprained ankles." She knelt down next to Ruby and looked under the icepack.

While her mother played nurse, she turned to her father and asked, "Where is our little Lion?" She had not seen her younger brother with them.

"Oh, he is playing with Regina and Robin's boys; we spent the afternoon together, catching up on old times. The boys are close in age, so they hit it off pretty quickly. They are at the playground not far from here, so I don't imagine we will see them much until dinner time." David explained and nodded towards Regina and Robin. "Oh, about dinner, Regina and Robin invited us for dinner at their home tonight, hope you don't mind."

Emma shrugged, "That's fine." Then she turned to her mother and asked, "What's the verdict, mom?"

"Oh, it sure looks pretty bad. I suggest you get to the doctor today." She looked at the group of young people. "I'm guessing one of you have got a car you can drive her in?"

"Sure Mrs. Nolan, I got a car. I'll have Killian here help me get her to my car, we'll leave right away," Will said and looked at his friend to make sure he was with him on that plan. Killian nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Mrs. Mills. I'm not sure I'll be ready for the charity dance event you want me and Killian to do," Ruby said in a sad voice and winced as she tried to get up on her own.

"Oh no you don't lass, stay put and wait until me and Killian can help you, ya hear me?" Will exclaimed and reached for her, making sure she stayed in her seat. Ruby sighed in defeat.

Regina looked a little worried at this news, and Killian really hoped that she would not go all "Evil Queen" on them, but finally she sighed and said, "We will figure something out, I'm sure. Do you know of someone else who can fill in for you, Miss Wolfe?" She looked at Ruby with hopeful eyes. The plans for the charity event were almost complete and she wanted the dance to still be a part of it.

Ruby started to shake her head then caught sight of her new friend. "Emma!... Emma can dance, she could fill in for me."

"Oh, hell no, I can't!" Emma cried out in shock. She started to shake her head, ignoring her mother's shocked gasp over her bad language. She was not fit to care about that right now. She was not going to dance in front of a room filled with people she did not know.

"Oh, come on Emma, you're a fantastic dancer. If you practice with Killian every day from now on, I know it will be perfect," Ruby implored and looked at Emma with begging eyes.

Emma just kept shaking her head and said, "No… nope ain't gonna happen Ruby, I can't… I…" She waved aimlessly around. Her eyes landed on the person she would have to spend even more time with if she agreed to this crazy idea, Killian, the very reason why she could not do this. Spending time with him would mean getting closer to him, and she did not want or need "close" right now. She tried to reason with herself and listed all the cons in this deal. She did not really feel ready to let someone new into her life like this. And considering what happened last night when they danced at the bar, she was not sure she was ready to work that close with the man.

Emma had not realized she had been staring straight at Killian until he cleared his throat and nervously scratched behind his ear, "Ah lass, I sorta feel ye don't want to do this with me!" He gave her a mischievous smile and had the nerve to actually wink at her. She rolled her eyes. Honestly, her parents were right there. She looked to her mother, who had this strange look on her face, a look Emma only knew too well. She had gone into her "plan and action" mode.

And sure enough, her mother chose that moment to interfere with their talk. "Emma sweetling, I know you can do this. I saw you dance at that last high school musical thing you did a few years back. You got rhythm and know how to move."

Had they not been in the company of some of her new friends and the friggin owners of this place, Emma would have huffed and puffed even more! She cast a look at Regina Mills, trying to figure out what her thoughts were on this whole deal. The woman looked deep in thought as she kept a watchful eye on what was going on between them.

"Mrs. Mills, I'm honestly a bit unsure if I can do this, so I will let you have the last word on this… just so you know, it's been ages since I last danced for real, and I've only had 2 dance lessons with Ruby this past week, so I'm not sure I'm up to par with Killian here. He is a much better dancer than I am." Emma tried to win some time and hopefully and escape from all of this. But the "Queen of the castle," so to speak, seemed to warm up to the idea and looked at Emma thoughtfully.

"Let me be the judge of that, Ms. Nolan. Why don't we let the boys take poor Ruby to the doctors and then tomorrow morning you can give me a test performance and I can see if you've got what it takes to dance at the charity event?" Regina Mills stated with a voice that held no room for argument. Emma sighed in defeat and shook her head as Killian, with a huge smirk on his face and one last wink her way, helped Ruby to Will's car.

Emma was a little shocked at the whole thing. How had she ended up in this situation? But she tried to keep calm for the rest of the day and hoped that Mrs. Mills would not talk too much about dancing and charity events at dinner.

They spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the cabin, then getting ready to go the Mills-Hood home, located half a mile from the resort. Emma did enjoy the evening and she found that her dad's old friend Robin was a fun guy with loads of new stories about her father's youth. Leo had been overjoyed by the fact that he could spend the rest of the evening with his new friends Henry and Roland. It seemed that Emma was not the only one getting new friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Killian show Regina Mills what they can do... will they be given the chance to dance at the charity event???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: more dancing... I'm in love with this story myself and honestly, I absolutely LOVE each and every one of the reviews you guys give me... brings me joy every time... hope you enjoy this... more to come soon...

Chapter 6

The next morning, Emma awoke with butterflies in her stomach. She could not believe that she had been persuaded to dance in front of Regina Mills and that if the resort owner gave the thumbs up, she would soon be dancing in front of a large room filled with people she did not know. It freaked her out a little; even her mother had been one to talk her into doing it. As she still lay in her bed, she started to think about who she would be dancing with, and she groaned into her pillow. Killian Jones was a man she could picture herself falling in love with, but her still-shattered heart was just not ready to do anything about it. She hoped that she would be able to keep a cool façade through the dance and hopefully no one would notice the tension between them.

Emma got out of bed, took a shower, and dressed in one of the few skirts she had brought to this vacation. It was knee length and had a nice swish to it, so she thought it would do okay for dancing. She went out to her family and had breakfast, but she was not left alone. Her mother started talking about her dance audition right away.

"Mom, could we just leave it? No need to make such a big deal out of it," Emma pleaded with her mother. She focused on her breakfast so she would not have to concentrate on her mother's look of excitement.

"Oh, Emma, sweetie, I think it's a great opportunity for you. You've met some nice new friends and you get to dance at this charity event Regina is planning," Mary Margaret said excitedly.

Emma rolled her eyes and stated, "Well, let's see how well I do when I dance with Killian this morning. I might suck big time and Regina will not let me dance."

She hoped this would shut her mother up, but then her mother said, "Oh I'm sure you will… oh can we come watch too?"

"NO! Nope not a chance in hell you ain't…" Emma exclaimed and put her fork down glaring at her mother, and then turned to her farther for support.

"Look darling, I think we need to let her do this on her own," David tried to reason with his wife. He knew that she often tried to get a bit too involved in their daughter's life. It was all fine when she had been a kid, but for some reason Mary Margaret sometimes forgot that Emma was in fact a grown up now. Mary Margaret huffed, a little annoyed at her husband's reasoning, but finally gave in and wished Emma good luck with the dance.

Emma thanked her and decided to leave the cabin to be alone for a while before she had to meet up with Killian and Regina in the dance studio. She needed to clear her head and heart of all feelings and focus on the dance. She hummed to herself while trying to picture herself dancing. This turned out to be more difficult than expected because her traitorous mind kept wandering to the man she was supposed to dance with. "Shite…" she mumbled to herself as she finally walked up to the studio. How was she ever going to get through the next half hour?

When she walked inside, Killian was already there, though there was no sign of Regina.

"Good morning, Killian," Emma greeted, trying to sound cheerful and not at all in a slight panic.

Killian turned to her and broke into a big grin, "Hello there love, ready to show the Evil Queen that you know how to dance?"

Emma smiled and shook her head, "Nope, not sure I'll ever be ready for this, but I'm doing it for my new friend Ruby."

"I'm your friend too, you know," Killian said quietly as he walked over to her, his eyes trying to catch hers.

Emma tried to keep her face calm, but feeling slight heat rise to her cheeks, she knew she failed miserably. She shrugged and said, "Sure we're friends Killian, it's just all of this sort of freaks me out a little, dancing in front of total strangers. It's one thing to do it in Ruby's class where everyone else is also learning the dance, but this is me… and you… alone in front of people who will be able to spot the small mistakes I make." Emma knew she might be rambling, so she hugged herself and tried to walk off the uneasy felling settling inside of her.

"Look, Emma, I've seen you dance, and I see a talent, one which will grow bigger once we start practicing. I'm sure it will all go smoothly," Killian tried to reason with her, walking beside her around the dance hall. He could see she was a bit on edge, and he hoped that he would be able to calm her down before Regina Mills showed up. When she suddenly stopped in front of him, he let his hand touch her shoulder, squeezing gently, letting her know it would be okay.

Emma smiled her thanks while her insides took in the fact that his hand was still touching her shoulder. The moment was ruined when they heard the clicking sound of heels walking into the studio. They both turned to see Regina Mills, dressed in formal business attire.

"Good morning to you, hope you got music and dancing ready. I've got a meeting down in Storybrooke in 45 minutes," Regina cut to the chase, found an empty chair, and sat down with her legs crossed, looking at them expectantly.

Emma gulped and looked up at Killian who reassured Regina, "Sure thing, we do the waltz, Emma is most familiar with that, and you can see for yourself that she has talent. We will work on something else also, if that is okay with you, Mrs. Mills?" Killian gently squeezed Emma's shoulder one last time before he walked over to the sound system. She was happy that he had chosen the waltz, as it was something she was very familiar with.

When the music was set to play, he walked over to her and did a small bow, giving her one of his stupidly smirking grins and a small wink.

"Ready, my lady?" he whispered, and oh god she hoped Regina didn't hear that.

She nodded her head and, taking position, placed one hand in his and the other on this shoulder. He did a count and they glided effortlessly into the waltz. This she knew and she didn't need to look down at her feet too often, so she kept her eyes over his shoulder, not wanting to tempt fate by looking into his eyes.

Their movements together were perfect to the untrained eye and Emma just hoped that it would be good enough for Regina Mills. She tried not to focus on the woman every time she was in her line of sight. Regina Mills was one of those people who could keep her face devoid of all emotions, so that made it very difficult to figure out what she thought of their dance.

When the music stopped, Emma sighed in relief and stepped back from Killian, letting him turn off the music. She fiddled nervously with her fingers as she dared to turn around to face judgment from Regina. Killian walked up next to her and said, "So Mrs. Mills, what's the verdict here? Are we good to go?" Emma felt a little calmer with Killian standing next to her, their fingers mere millimeters from each other.

"Well, I must say the two of you make a great team, so I believe we can make plans for you to dance at the charity event in two weeks. And if you want, there is still the end of season show with the talent contest. You can be part of that too if you want. It would be a nice change from odd magic tricks and belching males thinking that is a way to win," Regina said briskly as she picked up her purse and laughed a little at her own joke in the end. Then she bid them farewell.

Emma just stood there in a slight panic, then rubbed her face with her hands and groaned a little. "Oh, wow, that is a lot to take in… so are we doing one or two dances, you think?" She dared to look up at Killian still standing next to her.

"On my account, I would say two; you already got the hang of the waltz so I think we can work on something more modern for the second dance," Killian grinned at her, shrugging his shoulders.

"What would that be?"

"Maybe a tango with a more modern twist and a themed one maybe?" Killian explained while he went over to pick up his phone to search for something.

Emma was curious as to what he had in mind. Would that require her to dress up in a costume or…? She walked over to him and asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"This!" he flipped the phone so she could see the screen.

She almost choked in laughter, "You want to dress up as Captain Hook? Oh shit, no, I will not be able to dance. I would laugh my ass off if you did that. That ridiculous red hat and the perm hair and waxy moustache."

"Oh, come on Swan, don't ridicule my childhood favorite villain!" Killian laughed and added, "But yes, he is rather poufy, so I imagined him mixed more with this." He showed her a picture of Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean and looked at her expectantly. He shrugged, "So, sort of a mix between Hook and the swaggering Captain Jack Sparrow. Would that be more suitable?" He grinned when he noticed that small wrinkle in her forehead as she tried to come up with a clever comeback.

In the end, she shrugged and smiled, "That might work, but then what would I be?"

"Well my pirate princess of course."

"That is just because you want to see me dressed up as a pirate wench, ain't it?" She asked with a smirk, and playfully hit his arm.

He paused and looked straight into her eyes. "And what if I did?" One of his eyebrows rose up in question, a wide grin spread over his face.

Emma tried to shake off the feelings rushing through her at that look and mocked, "You wish buddy, not going to happen… Well, it depends on how revealing the dress is… there will be people there, you know."

"Aw, come on Swan, I'll make sure we find something not too revealing, and I promise I will not look all poufy like the Disney version of Hook," Killian begged and hoped she would get on board with his idea.

Emma chewed on her lip while thinking this over. It would be fun to do something very different than just the standard dancing, but she was still getting used to the thought of working so closely with Killian.

In the end she gave in and said with a dramatic sigh, "Alright then, but I get the last word on the dress buddy. And if we're going to dance at the talent show, my parents are going to be there too, you know." She really didn't think that her parents would be very happy if she showed up in a skimpy wench costume.

Killian merely nodded his head in agreement, then asked, "So why don't we start practicing this afternoon? I got a few hours off duty, just to start out and make some plans." Emma agreed to this and made some vague excuse about meeting her parents for some family thing. "Sure, I'll see you later then Swan, got a class in half an hour anyways. Have fun." He smiled and waved goodbye.

Emma walked to her family's cabin and found that her parents and little brother were not home. She could use some peace and quiet time anyway. She found the book she was currently reading on her phone and sat on one of the deck chairs on the patio. This was how she spent the rest of her morning, and when her parents came back for lunch, she told them the news that she and Killian would dance at the charity event. Her mother was over the moon and started an endless chatter about the whole thing, even going as far as starting to talk about what Emma should wear. Emma groaned and let her mother know she would deal with it herself and maybe get some help from Ruby; she was, after all, the one used to choosing dresses for dancing.

Mary Margaret gave up on the whole matter and made plans for the afternoon with Leo and David.

When lunch was done, Emma walked up to the studio, her nerves hitting full force again. She knew she had some talent with dancing but knowing she would spend time with Killian made this seem a bit awkward. She only hoped she would get over it and focus on the dancing.

Killian was already there.

"Do you never leave this place?" Emma asked, trying to make some light conversation.

She grinned when he replied with a smirk, "Nope, just had the dance class then lunch with Will, then back here preparing for our practice. You ready for this?"

"Hmm, sure, as ready as I'll ever be."

Emma walked over to the sound system and asked, "So we're doing this classical waltz thing and then what? I mean, what other dance did you have in mind for that pirate themed one… I have no idea what pirate dance looks like." Emma tried to laugh, but she still felt a bit uneasy.

"I had thought of doing something similar to a tango but adding some modern moves to it," Killian shrugged. He hoped that Emma would be able to see his plan once they started.

"Okay… hmm… I'm curious. What music do you want to use?" Emma asked and pointed to his phone lying next to the sound system.

"Well obviously that would be the theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean, what else would work?" he laughed, flipping through his playlist until he found the piece of music he wanted. He hit the play button and turned to Emma with a grin, bowing dramatically. "Will ya do me the honors of dancing with an ol' pirate like meself, milady?"

Emma laughed at his antics. She took his hand and placed her other on his shoulder. She hoped he would go easy on her with this. Tango was not something she was all that familiar with. The music had a good tempo, and Emma tried to keep up. Luckily, Killian was a dance partner who knew what he was doing. Once or twice they paused for Killian to give her pointers on how to do the steps more smoothly or how to position her arms. Emma had always liked watching others dance the tango, but for the first time ever she quite enjoyed doing it herself. It might have something to do with the fact that she danced with Killian this time. The man had gotten under her skin in the past few weeks, she had to admit that. She hoped that he would not pick up on her somewhat newfound interest for him; she was still not sure what this would lead to.

The afternoon went by in a blur as they got the basic dance routines planned out. They talked a lot about dancing and Emma started to feel freer being around Killian. She truly enjoyed his company. A few times, he managed to embarrass her when he took the dance to a level of intimacy as a Tango most of the time would be. But he did it with a certain glint in his eyes that gave her the impression that he knew he got under her skin when he did this.

They did the part of the dance routine one last time and they worked on the whole eye contact thing, and Emma found it hard to actually focus on her footwork when her eyes found his brilliant blue ones.

She ended up stumbling and groaned while hiding her face in her hands, "Think we should end it here. I mean the practice, not the whole dance… I mean… shite… sorry… I'm just tired and think I need to rest." She dared to look up at him, he only held her gaze with a knowing smile on his lips. "Will it be okay if we leave it at this, for now? When will we do this tomorrow?" Emma stepped back and found her bottle of water, taking a large drink.

She avoided eye contact all together while he answered, "Sure, let's call it a day. We can continue this tomorrow." He walked over and found his own bottle of water, keeping a watchful eye on her. He had sensed her uneasiness with the intensity of the dance as they had practiced some more intimate moves. He scratched behind his ear and waited for her to answer. This Swan was a puzzle and a bloody tempest, if he would be honest. But he tried to keep his distance, both due to the fact that she was a guest at the resort and because he could see that she was not really ready to open up to him.

Emma finished drinking and turned slightly towards him saying, "Hmm sure thing, we can meet up tomorrow. Got no definite plans with my family. We sort of take one day at a time. That's the way the Nolans do our vacations, I guess." She shrugged, found her purse and got ready to leave.

"We can talk more on the costumes, and we need to find them soon… or well at least yours I think…" When Emma looked at him with surprise, he added with a laugh, "Oh I might sort of already have my pirate ensemble put together. We can go talk with Ruby tomorrow. We can bring her lunch in her cabin and take Will with us too."

"Great, I'll see you then… Thanks Killian, this was fun, and I'm sure we will work out all my little flaws and it will be as good as it will get." Emma was still not so sure of her ability to do the pirate Tango, but she smiled when he spoke next.

"Oh, you're doing just great love! You got a hidden talent here Emma, don't worry too much about it, okay?"

"Okay!" She gave him a final smile and walked back home to their cabin, where her mother waited in excitement, wanting to know just about everything they had done. Emma rolled her eyes at her mother's pestering questions, but this was how Mary Margaret was every time her daughter ever did something new.

Emma only hoped that she would be able to do the performance with at least a little bit of perfection. But with having Killian as her dance instructor it might actually happen, she hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: hope you liked it... the next one will be up soon... got both chapter 7 and 8 at my Beta... (who is working endlessly to pick out all my grammar mistakes... THANKS!... tell me what you like in a review...


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talking about dresses... Killian and Emma goes dress shopping...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: a pretty long one... introducing a few side-characters from OUAT, some might not play any further role than this chapter, just some characters that I really like and one, in particular, that is sometimes overlooked when I read other AU OUAT fics... (a firey redheaded scot ;) ) and then a few of them will come up in future chapters... one, in particular, I do not like, but need him to be "the bad guy" :P
> 
> This was fun to write, and I really hope you like this...

Chapter 7

Emma had found out that it was possible to order a picnic lunch take-out from the hotel restaurant. She called Ruby and Killian and let them know she would bring lunch to Ruby's cabin so they could talk costumes and details. Ruby had mentioned that Will might also be there, and Emma reassured her that she would bring food for her British boy. Ruby had laughed at this and prodded, "What about your British boy?"

"Shut up, he is not my anything!" Emma sighed, "I'll see you at lunch…" She hung up and shook her head at the stupid grin that appeared on her face at the mere mention of Killian. Why did she feel like this every time he was mentioned? She shook the thoughts away and walked out to her parents to let them know of her plans for today. Surprisingly enough, her parents were all too happy about the idea.

"That is marvelous idea honey. Better get a head start on the planning. One can never do too much planning," Mary Margaret said with a smile.

"Wow, you're not even upset that I won't join in on all the Nolan family fun and games stuff you got planned for today?" Emma asked in surprise.

"Sweetie, we would love for you to do that, but this is a great experience for you, and we don't want to take that chance away from you," Her mother gave her a strange grin and started to fiddle with the coffee cup in front of her. She was obviously hiding some part of just why she liked the idea of their daughter spending all this time with her new friends.

"Mum, why the change of mind?" Emma asked curiously, eyeing her mother with suspicion.

"Oh you know…" Mary Margaret waved her hand aimlessly in the air, "We just like the fact that you have made some new… eh, friends… and oh, that dance part must be a fun experience for you… that's all." She gave her daughter a sweet smile.

Emma rolled her eyes at her mother's lame excuse, but let it slide, took her breakfast, and talked a little with her younger brother. He had tales to tell of his adventures with his new friends and Emma was happy for him.

Later that morning, she walked up to the hotel and into the lobby to look around. She had not ventured up there in the time they had been there. Her parents had talked about dining a few times at the restaurant, but they had never done so yet. She might have looked a little lost, as she was soon approached by a man from reception. He looked down at her and asked with a plastered-on smile, "Can I help you with anything, Miss?"

"Oh, yes well sure… I was trying to find the restaurant. I want to order a lunch for me and my friends," Emma explained and stepped back a little from the man, as she felt he was in her personal space. The man gave her a half grin when she did this and Emma wrinkled her eyebrows in surprise. What was the deal with this man?

"Of course, it's right this way Miss. And if I can help you with anything else, let me know. My name is Walsh, so anytime you need help, ask for me." His fake polite smile was still stuck to his face while he pointed to the left of the lobby.

"Thank you," Emma said, wanting to get out of there, and fast, not wanting to ask him for more help. The man creeped her out with his too-forward behavior and when he took a tiny step towards her and reached his hand out towards her as if he wanted to touch her, she sidestepped and walked quickly away from him. What was it with men at this place? Everything from creeps like this guy to the two mountain men down by the lake who obviously took some sort of interest in her, and then there was Killian the too-hot dance instructor she was now forced to spend time with. This last thing she actually didn't mind one bit, if she had to be honest. With this in mind, she turned around to look back at Walsh. The man had found his next prey, a couple walking into the lobby. They seemed to have just arrived, since Will Scarlett followed behind them with a baggage trolley.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Gold, so nice to see you have arrived. Welcome to Storybrooke Hillside Resort. Here, let me get you checked in so you can start your vacation here," Walsh typed on the computer and within a short time, he had the couple booked in. He gave Will their key so he could get their bags to the room. The couple stayed back a little, claiming they wanted to check out the bar.

"Ah, right this way, sir," Walsh smarmed the couple and lead them to the bar.

Will spotted Emma watching the scene. When he came up next to her, he said hi and nodded in the direction to where the couple had left with Walsh.

"That would be Mr. Gold and his young wife. He has come to this place many times before, or so I've been told like a million times this morning from the suck-up Walsh there. He hav' pestered the poor maids about getting the room in perfect condition for their arrival," Will rolled his eyes and continued, "Mr. Gold apparently likes to gamble, and yes the resort does have a small casino if you didn't know that." Emma shook her head. She had not read that much about the place, so she did not know this.

"Ah well, I don't mind, and now I'm just even more happy that we do not stay up here. I would hate to run into that creep Walsh every day," Emma cringed in disgust.

"Ah I get ye on the account of the creepy Walsh guy, and well I guess I'll see you later for lunch eh?" Will grinned. Emma nodded and told him that she was just about to order their lunch.

Emma walked to the restaurant and found the place where she could order lunch. The head waitress was a young woman with an enormous mane of curly flaming red hair, all pilled in a loose knot on top of her head.

"Hi me name is Merida, what can I help ya' with t'day" The woman spoke with a thick Scottish accent, and Emma gave her smile and explained what she needed.

"Alright, 4 picnic lunches, got it." Merida typed the order into her screen and said, "It will be packed and ready in 20 minutes. Can I tempt you with anything to drink while you wait?" Merida nodded towards the small bar in the restaurant.

"Ah well I might have a hot chocolate if you have that… and if so, can you add a sprinkle of cinnamon?" Emma asked nervously.

Merida only said, "Sure thing, just find a stool and make yourself comfortable."

Emma drank her hot chocolate while she waited; it calmed her nerves a bit, drinking her favorite hot beverage.

Twenty minutes later, Emma walked out of the hotel with a picnic basket in her hand and turned towards Ruby's cabin. She tried not to dwell too much on who she would be spending the afternoon with. Ruby had suggested they meet in her cabin with Killian so they could talk dress and other details. Then her new friend had said that she knew of a small costume/dress shop in Storybrooke that might have what they were looking for and promised to make a call to see if they had anything.

When she was almost at the cabin, she saw that Killian was walking down the path that she knew led to his cabin. She closed her eyes for a second, then took a deep breath and smiled at the man.

"Hi Killian," She shifted the basket in her hands.

Before she even realized it, he had snagged it out of her hands and said, "Here, let me help, eh?"

"It is not that heavy, you know; I could have done that myself," she puffed in feigned annoyance; she gave him a smile and shook her head.

"Ah, that might be, but it wouldn't be the gentleman thing to do," Killian stated and motioned for them to proceed up to the cabin. Emma just rolled her eyes. What was it with this man that made her do things she had never thought she would do? Like dance at a charity event.

They came up to Ruby's cabin and found that Will had already arrived. Emma unpacked the lunch and set it up at the table on the tiny porch in front of the cabin. They made room for everyone and somehow Emma ended up sitting next to Killian on a small bench against the wall. She tried not to notice how close they had to sit while they began eating, but she did notice the smug glares Ruby shot her way once in a while, waggling her eyebrows. Emma chose to ignore her friend and enjoy the food.

After some time, Killian asked, "So Ruby, you say there is a costume shop down in Storybrooke. Would they have any pirate-themed dresses?"

"Sure thing, I called Elsa this morning and she said they have a few options. She sent some pictures actually, one sec…" Ruby fished out her phone and soon found the photos. She gave the phone to Emma, who nearly choked on the last bite of food in her mouth. She was never going to wear that to a charity dance.

"Nope, not gonna happen girl!" she exclaimed, still coughing. She suddenly noticed that Killian had leaned over to her and looked at the phone over her shoulder. She tried not to focus on the heat coming from his close proximity.

"That would make quite the entrance, love!" Killian stated with a smug smile on his lips. Emma huffed in response and shoved him away from her.

"That is not gonna happen, buddy!" She pointed to the picture of the far too revealing dress. The skirt was cut way above mid-thigh and the top revealed far too much cleavage on the model wearing it.

"Okay, okay, look at the next picture, Emma," Ruby laughed. She knew her new friend would never agree to wear that first one, but it had been fun watching her reaction to it.

The next picture was much more modest with a shirt that still had a rather open neck, but it covered far more skin than the first one. The skirt was frilly and made with several layers of fabric it seemed. More importantly, it was long; though the hemline was asymmetrical, making one side shorter than the other, that cut was set just above the knee. All of these things put together made it pretty easy for Emma to decide.

"This is more like it. Do they have that in their shop, you think, and in my size?" Emma looked over at her friend.

Ruby nodded and said that she had told the owners that they-meaning Emma and Killian- would come down there this afternoon.

"…I mean, I can't really move around that much yet." She looked at her twisted ankle propped up on a small footstool under the table. She sighed and nodded to the two sitting on the bench, "So, you two will have to do an afternoon excursion to town. I know Killian does not have anything scheduled until later this evening."

Emma was surprised at how much Ruby had already planned all of this. Then again, the fact that she was immobile at the moment gave her far too much time to plan for everyone else.

"Thank you, Ruby. We will go to town and pick up the dress." She looked at Killian, trying to see how he felt about this idea. He had a huge grin on his face that told her he really didn't mind spending the afternoon with Emma, even though it meant going dress shopping.

They packed up the lunch basket; Emma let the leftovers stay in Ruby's fridge. Then Killian and Emma walked up to the hotel to bring the picnic basket back to the restaurant. When they walked into the lobby, they could see that Walsh was still at the reception. He shot a curious stare their way. Emma could only guess he was trying to figure out why the two of them were walking together, with a picnic basket no less. Emma rolled her eyes at this, then spotted the newly arrived couple. Gold, was it? They walked over to Walsh and asked him something Emma couldn't hear, but one second later, Walsh's voice was heard loud and clear: "Oh, Mr. Jones, you're in the dance department, right? I got some customers for you here. Could you have a little chat with them, please?" The tone of his voice made it clear that Killian really didn't have any say in this.

"Sorry love, be right back. Work duty calls, I guess," Killian whispered to Emma, shrugging his shoulders.

"No worries, I'll just return the picnic basket here and wait for you outside." Emma said and took the basket out of his hand. She gave him a reassuring smile and turned around walking into the restaurant.

Killian walked over to the reception desk and put on a polite customer service smile as he approached the couple. Right away, he could see that they were some of the wealthier guests at this place. The man was dressed in a designer cut business suit and in his hand he had a walking cane made out of almost black wood, with a round gilded top. The woman looked much younger than the gentleman, in a dress that screamed designer cut and jewels that adorned her neck and ears.

"Killian Jones at your service, sir," Killian forced out politely and reached out a hand to the couple. It was the woman who took his hand and said, "Thank you, it's mighty nice of you… you see, my husband and I, we are staying at this wonderful place for the rest of the summer and my husband likes to do his gambling." With this, she gave out a little chuckle as if that was the funniest thing in the world. Killian mentally rolled his eyes. Bloody hell, this couple is something else, he thought.

"I'm afraid I don't follow, Mrs…?" Killian asked curiously and scratched behind his ear, a nervous tic when he didn't know what to do in a situation.

"I'm Belle Gold and this is my husband Robert Gold. And we… I mean, I wanted to do something else than sit at my husband's side when he plays in the casino, so I asked Walsh here and he told me you have a great dance department. It's been such a long time, but I would really like to reconnect with my dancing. So, is that something you can help us with?" Belle asked and had the audacity to bat her eyelashes at him.

Killian stifled a groan. Bloody hell, he was sure this was going to be a nightmare, and true enough the golden Mr. Gold chimed in, "Yes, my darling Belle gets so bored when I'm focused on me cards, you know. It would be nice for her to do something that she likes to do." Mr. Gold waved his hand in the air and gave Killian a smile that could only be described as creepy, and he instantly didn't like the man.

But he worked here, and his job was to please the customers, so, "Of course. Do you have any preferences, Mrs. Gold?" Killian asked.

"Oh, just the classic dancing for me," Mrs. Gold smiled and asked, "Will it be too much to ask for private dance classes, also?" Killian knew that they did accept that but it was very rare. He sensed that this was one of the times he might have to give in, as the couple were obviously some high rolling VIP guests at the resort.

"Sure, we can find some time slots for a few private sessions. If you do not mind joining a few of the group classes, we got a bit of a tight schedule as one of our dancers is out of commission due to an injury," Killian explained politely. He had taken over one of Ruby's classical dance classes and the two other instructors shared the rest between them.

"Oh, that is perfectly fine Mr. Jones," Mrs. Gold replied, so Killian gave her the details on when the next class was and that could plan out the private sessions after. He really didn't like those, but it did get him some extra money.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Jones," Mr. Gold finally said and took his wife's proffered arm as they nodded their heads in farewell. Killian sighed in relief but had forgotten that Walsh was breathing down his neck from behind the reception desk.

"Mr. Jones, please do keep your private opinions about the resort guests to yourself!"

Killian just nodded in response. In the time he had worked in the resort, he had come to really dislike the man behind the counter, as he always gave an air of "I'm more important than you" whenever Killian had run into him.

Finally out of the hotel again, he found Emma sitting on a bench waiting for him. "Sorry about that love, some high roller guest wanted to inquire about private dancing lessons for his wife." Killian rolled his eyes at this.

Emma just smiled and said, "I guess it gives good money, eh, with private classes?" Killian nodded and motioned for her to follow him. They walked behind the hotel to where the staff parked their cars. They found Killian's truck and took off towards Storybrooke. Emma had texted her parents while she was waiting for Killian, letting them know that she would be going into town to pick up a dress. She had not mentioned anything about it being with Killian.

They found the costume/dress shop fairly easily, as it was located close to Granny's dinner. The small dress shop was called "All Things Magical" and the window was filled with some fancy dresses and costumes. So, they had both fancy ball gowns and costumes. The owner was a friend of Ruby, so when they told the tall blond woman at the counter that they were looking for a pirate princess costume, she smiled widely.

"Ah yes, my dear friend Ruby called letting us know you would come. I got the dress ready, the one you picked out from the photos, and you can try it on, and then we can work on finding the last accessories for the outfit. How does that sound?"

Emma smiled politely, but inwardly she sighed. She was never really one to dress up with all sorts of accessories and fancy things.

The blond woman walked to the part of the shop with the costumes and then turned around. "Oh I'm sorry, I'm Elsa by the way."

"I'm Emma and this is… this is Killian." Emma walked to the changing room once she got the dress from Elsa.

It did indeed fit her, and she was thankful for the more modest choice they had made. The shirt had an open collar held together with a silk ribbon, letting Emma choose how much skin she would show. The skirt had a nice swish to it, and Emma twirled around still inside the small cabin and grinned. This could work as a dance costume-it even had some glitter around the hemline.

She walked out of the changing room and was met with a babbling talking machine. A young girl maybe a few years younger than Emma shot a long line of words at her, "Oh that looks so wonderful on you, don't you think Elsa? She looks down right like a true pirate princess, don't she? Oh, this is perfect, let me just find something to go with that… uh, we need a cincher, maybe leather, and some hair clips… I think we got some pirate-themed ones with rhinestones… and… oh we need jewelry… not real ones of course, but we got loads of fake ones… you'll love it I'm sure." The red head twirled on her feet, walking around the shop and picking out various small items from the racks.

"Oh, that would be my sister… sorry about her…" Elsa excused when she walked over to Emma. She looked at the dress with a critical eye, then smiled, "But yes, this will do the trick, I think. You look stunning in this one, Emma. I'll let Anna here help you with the details, and you must really try to overlook the babbling, she does that whenever she gets excited." Elsa apologized and walked to the counter to do some work there.

Emma turned to Killian. She had not seen what his reaction to the dress had been. He had a rather strange look on his face as he looked over her new outfit. He smiled as he finally found her eyes, raising and eyebrow and giving her a wink. "Now that is a perfect fit for my pirate princess." He smirked and made a grand gesture with his arms, as bowing to her.

Emma laughed and said, "Well, I've yet to see your pirate ensemble so we might not even match." She shrugged and looked around the shop trying to see where Anna had gone; she needed the distraction, as Killian kept looking at her with his impossible blue eyes.

Finally, Anna showed up with her arms filled with piles of glittery fake jewelry and other accessories. She dumped it all on a nearby table and pulled out some hair clips. "Now, I don't know if you have any ideas on hairstyle, but if you want it loose… I mean come on, with gorgeous hair like this, it would be a shame to hide it in a tight braid like my sister does…" Anna gestured wildly with her hands towards Emma's hair and then continued, "Anyhow… this might work." She had picked out a hair clip that could hold back Emma's hair on the side of her head. Emma didn't really have time to look at them before Anna stepped up to her and placed them in her hair. The young girl had some spunk, that was for sure, though her sense of etiquette might be a bit less apparent.

Emma found a nearby mirror and she saw what Anna meant by having her hair down. She found Killian's eyes on her and saw him nod in approval. She tried to hide the blush rising to her face, so she turned to Anna and asked, "So what next?"

"Oh, I do think a cincher would be great," Emma looked at her, puzzled, and Anna explained, "Oh, it's a sort of corset kinda thing, only it can be worn outside the shirt… like this… let me show you." Anna pulled out a leather cincher from her pile of stuff and stepped up to Emma, who reflexively raised her arms in the air. She caught Killian staring again, this time with a very amused look on his face.

"What?" she asked, trying not to sound too angry, but the smug smile that kept his lips occupied during this whole process had her nerves on end. He looked like he was having way too much fun with this. And if Emma tried to look at it from an outsider's perspective, she imagined this whole show was rather comical. Emma with her arms up while being strapped into a leather corset by a speed-talking Anna.

"Nothing love, nothing at all, you look spectacular by the way, think we found the right stuff here. Thank you, Anna," Killian said, but before he could say anything else Anna spoke up: "Oh we are not done… not yet anyway…" The whirlwind that was Anna dove down in her pile of glittery stuff and pulled out a leather choker necklace with a fake gemstone in its center. That was put on Emma, together with a handful of glittery arm bracelets and even some earrings.

Finally stepping back, Anna practically skipped while she clapped her hands in excitement. "Oh, this is the best look, I absolutely love it. I do hope you will send us pictures of the two of you together." Emma raised a questioning eyebrow; they apparently knew Killian was dressing up as a pirate, too.

"We will," Killian answered and walked over to Emma with a curious look in his eyes. He did a small bow and took her hand, "Milady, you look fabulous. May I have this dance?" he gave her hand a small kiss. Emma gaped at him, not sure how she should react, but come on they were in a shop, with strangers looking on. She cast a look towards Anna, who pretty much jumped up and down on the balls of her feet, the look on her face pure happiness.

Finally, Emma shook her head and did a small curtsy, then stepped into his arms. She realized that the cincher hugged her waist and the warmth of Killian's hand on her back shot straight through the material. Killian hummed a strange tune and did a few waltz steps and twirled her around, then back into his arms, and then he stopped. He grinned down at her while he kept his arm around her.

Emma found her mind going blank as he stared at her with his smiling blue eyes. For the love of god, why did he have to have such captivating eyes? She shook herself out of her stupor and whispered, "Thanks for the dance, captain." Then she stepped out of his arms and waved towards the changing room. "I'll just, you know… go put on some clothes… I mean my own clothes… be right back." She quickly walked behind the curtain and gently got out of the costume along with all the accessories Anna had found for her.

A few minutes later, Emma walked out to Killian, and she went up to Elsa to pay for the dress. Killian started to protest when she did this. He claimed that it had to be him paying for the dress, as it was he who needed her help.

"Look Killian, don't think about it. Besides, I want to keep the dress, this is turning out to be so much fun. So next Halloween, I might be a pirate princess, who knows?"

They walked out of the shop and Emma looked at her phone, realizing how late it really was. "Shite, I had no idea how long we spend in that shop. It's almost dinner time; we have to go to the car now." She turned to Killian, who had a strange grin on his face. "What?" she asked.

"How about we get something from Granny's? I mean, to celebrate the final purchase of the dress you'll be wearing at the charity thing." Killian shrugged his shoulders and pointed towards the diner.

Emma stared at him in surprise, was he really? "Are you asking me out on a date, Killian Jones?" she asked with a laugh, not really believing her own ears.

"Nope not a date, love… well, only if you want it to be." He smirked and then reached out his hand to hers, "But honestly, can we just eat dinner together and not worry about all the technicalities of what this is or what it's not?" He gave her a rueful smile, hoping that she would just accept his offer. He knew she didn't really want it to be anything else but friendship right now, but he felt connected to the lass in ways that he hadn't felt before. He bit his lips in nervousness, waiting for her to respond.

Emma held her breath as he spoke. She had meant is as a joke, but obviously he had somehow semi-meant to ask her out but held back because he somehow could sense that she wasn't ready to beyond more friendship. Emma squeezed his hand and nodded, "Okay, let's go have some dinner." While they walked to the diner, Emma sent off a quick text letting her parents know she would not make it to dinner that night.

They ended up having fun. They ate greasy food, and both did a spectacular job in trying to steal off food from the other's plate. Emma learned a few new things about Killian, like how he had lost his brother, and Emma actually ended up giving Killian the full story on how Neal had ruined her life the previous year. It was rare that Emma ever shared that story with anyone not very close to her. But now, sitting with a full belly and sipping on the last bit of soda in her glass, she took some time to look at the man in front of her. He had gotten under her skin from the very moment he had walked into her life, and now she actually saw him as a true friend of hers. She didn't want to lose that.

Killian felt her look at him and he smiled sheepishly at her while he dragged the last fry in the ketchup on his plate. He really did want to know what was going on behind those eyes of hers, her gorgeous green eyes. When she had opened up about her breakup with the wanker Neal, he had vowed to himself that he would treat her with respect. If that meant having her in his life as only a friend, then he would gladly take that.

When they had finished their meal, they did have to go back to the resort, as Killian had a scheduled dance class at 8 o'clock. They said goodbye and Emma walked to her parent's cabin, fearing what questions might come her way from her mother.

Leo was playing ball outside when she came home, and he yelled, "MUM! Emma is home." Then he sprinted over to her and gave her hug.

"Missed me, eh kiddo?" Emma laughed and kissed his head. She followed him up onto the porch and was greeted by her parents.

"Hi Emma, had a fun day today?" Her mother asked with a twinkle in her eye, Emma groaned as she knew exactly what that meant. Her mother knew stuff.

"Yes, I had a great time. We found my dress… do you want to see it?" Emma walked inside, hoping to escape her mother's next question.

"So, 'we'… as in you and Killian, I assume?" Her mother asked with a smile while she took a look at the dress Emma pulled out. Emma only hummed an affirmative and let her mother look at the dress she found.

"Oh, Emma this is very nice. I can't wait to see you in this. That reminds me, your father and I have bought tickets to the charity event, so we get to see you! Ain't that exciting?" Mary Margaret said in glee.

Emma felt her heart drop, "Oh no, please say you didn't, mother… I'm messed up as it is about this whole thing, I don't need to have the two of you on the sidelines too!" Emma groaned, but deep down she knew her parents well enough to know they would never miss an opportunity like this. And they did have the money for it, so it was bound to happen.

"Come on, Emma, you won't even notice us, sweetheart. We will let you run your show with Killian and that's it. We just want to support the good cause, you know," her mother tried to explain, but Emma just sighed and said she would be in her room reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: next chapter is done, it's at my beta reader... Chapter 9 is a work in progress up in my mind... but got a few days over the easter time where I can write... so maybe, but won't promise anything...
> 
> Let me know in a review what you think of this chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Using another favorite scene from the movie Dirty Dancing... hope you like it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: a bit long chapter... hope that is okay... hope you like what I did with yet another favorite scene from the movie Dirty Dancing... the lake practice... and I promise that their relationship WILL get grow in this... enjoy...

Chapter 8

The next day, Emma spend the morning with her family. She agreed to go swimming with them, to her brother's great joy. The water play area was filled with people, and Emma sighed. She honestly didn't like the crowded space. But she did indulge in a game or two with her father and brother in the water, quite enjoying her time with her family.

When they had eaten lunch, she hiked up to the dance studio to practice with Killian. After their dress shopping adventure the day before, she had begun to relax more in his company. She genuinely viewed him as a friend, and she told herself that friendship was enough, for now.

Killian broke into a smile when she entered the studio.

"Hi love, so did your mother like the dress?"

Emma laughed and said, "Oh, don't get me started on what my mother thinks. Speaking of said parents they have bought tickets to that damn charity event, can you believe them?" Emma groaned, combing her fingers through her still-damp hair.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will go perfectly. I do think they are just mighty proud of you, love." Killian smiled and patted her shoulder in condolence. He noticed her damp hair. "Have you gone swimming?"

Emma nodded and told him she had been out swimming with her family while she got herself ready to practice. She had learned that a warm up and stretching her muscles was a good idea.

They practiced the waltz and began working on the pirate-themed dance, and Killian found the theme to Pirates of the Caribbean. Then they worked through various ideas to movements and steps that fit into the rhythm.

Emma got more and more confident about bringing in her own thoughts and ideas as they got further into the dance. At first, she had shrugged her shoulders and told Killian that she didn't know how they should do this. She had felt a bit inadequate compared to Killian's experience. He continued to ask her, and when she finally gave a few ideas, he kept them in mind and worked with it and together they added to the dance.

When they had worked for over an hour, Emma started to feel tired and was missing more and more steps, and at one point she even managed to step on his toe.

"Sorry, Killian. I think we should call it a day, don't you?" She looked up at his face, still very close to hers, as they had been working through part of the dance that required it.

"Hmm, you might be right. We need a break." Killian smiled and kept his arm around her waist.

"So… eh…I'll… just…"

Emma was suddenly very aware of how close they still were.

Reluctantly, Killian released her hand and let go of her waist. His fingers scratched behind his ear as he grinned sheepishly at her.

"Sure, love. We got a lot done today, I think. And honestly, you don't have to sell yourself short in terms of knowledge about dancing; I think you're doing quite well," Killian said with a smile as he went over to get a bottle of water.

"Thanks, Killian, I appreciate that. I might start believing in it myself one day," Emma laughed while she too found a bottle of water and took a drink.

"So, what's your plan for the rest of the afternoon?" Killian asked curiously and sat down on a chair.

"Nothing, really," Emma answered with a shrug. She had not made any plans with her family.

"Hm…" Killian looked at her a bit nervously. He scratched the spot behind his ear again, something Emma had noticed was a nervous habit of his; she gave him a smile. "Well maybe we… you and I… could do something… like grabbing a cup of coffee or something." Killian took an uneasy sip of his water, waiting for her response.

Emma looked at him with a smile. Honestly, that man was sweet and endearing in too many ways for her to even count. "Sure, that would be lovely, where do you want to go?" Emma asked. She knew they could not walk into the small café up at the hotel without raising some eyebrows from the other staff.

"Ah, that I do not know. We could go grab something from the staff bar. We could take it to-go and find a nice spot somewhere…" Killian thought that might be their best option.

Emma agreed to this and she found her things and kept her water bottle at hand, as it had been quite a workout for them both with the dancing.

Fifteen minutes later, they both had a cup of coffee and Killian had even wrestled a bag of peanuts from Jefferson. "Sorry it's not much of an afternoon snack, but it being a bar, they don't have a lot of options."

"It's fine, really, Killian. Stop making excuses for everything, please," Emma said and placed her free hand on his arm and looked up at him, giving him a smile. "I don't really care if we got this or that… I just want to spend time with you." She trailed off and suddenly felt the heat from his arm burning her hand. She took a small step back and ran her fingers through her hair while she looked around for a spot to sit.

Killian was about to apologize again but held it back and let out, "As you wish." He did a small mock bow and raised one eyebrow at her, winking. Emma laughed at his gesture.

They found a place at the very edge of the forest, overlooking the vast area leading down to the lake. They spent an hour drinking coffee and snacking on the peanuts, while the talk between them was light and easily flowing. Emma felt herself relax even more in his company, and she sensed that he did enjoy spending time with her also. Why else would he have asked to get coffee together?

Killian checked the time on his phone and sighed. "Oh, I got to go back to the studio. Got a class coming up in half an hour." He looked over at Emma with a sad smile. He really had enjoyed his time with her, and he was sad that they had to cut short their time together. Then he got an idea: "How about you join my class this afternoon? You know you've yet to take one of my classes!"

Emma saw the smile on his face and hope in his eyes; she was not too fond of saying goodbye just yet, either. "Hmm, that's true… but we've just danced for an hour. I'm not sure I'm fit for more dancing today." Emma sighed dramatically and shot him a grin.

"Oh, no worries, love. This class is for beginners, so the tempo is slower than the dancing we did earlier." He winked at her and rose from his seat and waited for her to join him. He hoped that she would come to the class.

"Okay, I guess I can give it a try," Emma laughed, and then she walked with him to the studio.

True to his words, it was a very beginner-level class and Emma felt a little ridiculous being there, so she stood in the very back and tried not to look like she actually knew what she was doing. Killian caught her eyes a few times and grinned. He knew she was trying to hide her talent.

Among the other guests, Emma spotted the Mrs. Gold that Killian had told her about, the rich woman who was married to the older Mr. Gold. The woman seemed to enjoy herself immensely and after the class was over, she walked straight up to Killian. Emma stayed behind, letting him plan the private sessions with Mrs. Gold. Emma could see that Killian shifted nervously while he spoke with the woman, running his hands through his hair several times, and at one point he cast a worried look over to Emma. When Mrs. Gold left, Emma went to Killian's side, biting her lower lip. She could see he was slightly upset at something.

"What's wrong, Killian?" she asked carefully, trying to find the answer in his eyes.

"Oh, bloody hell, I hate that money talks," Killian groaned, and finally looked at her with a rueful smile. "I've had to make room for a few private sessions with Belle Gold, you know, and it might give us a wee bit less time to practice. We will have to cram it in between my other classes and maybe do a late-night practice," Killian explained, running a hand through his hair and making it stand up in an even more unruly way. Emma tried in vain to not notice how this made him even more attractive.

"Don't worry too much about all of that, Killian. We will find a way around it all. I'm sure it will be fine, and you know we do make quite a good team, so I think we will manage to perfect the dancing before the charity event," Emma reassured him and placing a calming hand on his arm, hoping she did not overstep any boundaries.

Killian gave a huge smile and said, "Thanks love, I really appreciate this. And yes, you got talent, so I know that you will make the dance perfect." Then he looked down at his arm and only then did Emma realize she had her hand placed there. With a quick movement, she pulled her hand away and smiled sheepishly at him while she tugged a stray hair behind her ear. She hoped the color of her face would stay normal. What was it with this man that made her do things like this?

Emma stepped back and made some vague excuse about going back to her parents. Killian agreed and said he needed to do some prep for a dance class in the morning. Before Emma left, they agreed to fit in a practice hour just before lunch.

The rest of the day she spent with her parents and played a few board games out on the porch with her brother too.

The next practice was progressing much like it had the day before, and they had taken a few more parts into the dance routine. Killian had suggested a lift as something of a finale of the dance, where he would be lifting her over his head. Emma had been very hesitant about this idea; it all seemed very difficult and even a bit dangerous. In the end of the practice hour, Killian suggested, "How about this… this afternoon after my class, we can go to the lake and practice in the water. It will be easier to do this with the buoyancy of the water, you know."

Emma looked at him in surprise. She knew he might be right, but the thought of going swimming with him made her face heat up a little. She found some courage and replied, "Is this just some scheme to have an opportunity to see me in a bathing suit?" She shot him a huge smile, letting him know she was merely joking.

Killian barked a laugh at this. "Honestly, that was not my first thought, it really was the fact the water makes it easier to practice lifts like this." He scratched behind his ear and gave her a smirk and wink. "But now that you mention it, I might be looking forward to seeing you in a… eh… bathing suit."

Emma swatted his arm and laughed, "Just so you know, it's a very modest thing I have with me. I'm on a family vacation, you know."

"That might be, but I think it will not make it any less enjoyable," Killian fired back with a smile.

"You're impossible, you know," Emma laughed and shook her head. "But sure, we can meet down at the lake later today."

"Thank you, let's meet by the center stage area. You know, the place where I first saw you with your mother. Will that suit you, my princess Swan?" Killian smiled and did a mock bow towards her.

"Sure, it will. Until later, then," Emma said and waved goodbye to him, then she walked to the cabin and had lunch with her family.

Her mother was delighted at the things she told about the dance routine they had been working on. And when she heard Emma would practice a lift later in the lake, her eyebrows rose in surprise, but her eyes held a small secret twinkle that Emma didn't want to explore any further. "Don't worry, mom, it will be all modest and you know I don't have any skimpy bathing suits, so there will be no indecencies there," Emma explained with a groan.

Between lunch and the time she was going to meet Killian, she tried to occupy herself by doing things with her family. It took her mind off the fact that she would be practicing in the water with him. She tried not to imagine how he looked under his shirt. They had been close enough in their dancing together for her to know that he was fairly well built.

When it was time to get ready, Emma put on her bathing suit and found a loose-fitting t-shirt to cover her top and a pair of shorts, too. She stuffed her towel in a bag and said goodbye to her parents, letting them know that she would be back for dinner.

She got there before Killian and sat on the steps leading to the small stage. The area around the stage was empty, thank god for that. She did not need to be coaxed into some obnoxious princess dress. Her eyes wandered to the swim area, and it was filled with people. She sighed. It would be so awkward if they would have to practice in the midst of that crowd. While she thought of this, she chewed on her lower lip in worry, and failed to notice Killian walking up to her.

"You seem worried there, Swan," Killian said gently, now standing right next to her.

Emma jumped in surprise and shot him a glare. "Jesus, you scared the shit out of me." She rose from her seat, still looking at the crowd at the beach area. Killian followed her gaze and knew what was on her mind.

"Name's Killian, you know," he gave a wink and laughed, then added, "Don't worry, we don't have to do this here. I know a secret location fifteen minutes walk from the resort area. Would that be better?" He asked and pointed towards the edge of the woods.

"Yes, that would be much better. I mean, I'm already nervous as it is over this whole thing, I don't need a crowd when failing that lift you want to do," Emma said and started walking in the direction he had pointed out for her.

Killian followed her and said, "I know you can do this, love. Try something new, it's called trusting your dance partner's instincts." He shot her a grin when she turned around to look at him; he shrugged, hoping she would understand.

"I'm trying, Killian, I really am," Emma said with a sigh and kept walking.

When they finally came to the secluded spot he had told her about, Emma stood for a short time, taking in the beauty of it all. It was a small cove surrounded by trees all around. A small strip of sand was the only indication that this would be a nice place to go swimming.

"This is wonderful," Emma said while she walked down to the small slope leading to the sand. She stopped before the sand and put her bag down, toed off her sandals and took a step out on the sand.

She turned around, looking back at Killian. He had a grin on his face and said, "Glad you like it, Emma. So are we hitting the water right away or…?" He scratched behind his ear, as he suddenly realized they would actually be going in the water together. He took a deep breath and walked down to where Emma had dropped her things, then he got rid of his shoes and placed his own bag next to hers.

Emma tried not to stare as he came closer. She turned to the water and shrugged, "Why not? We might as well see if this is going to work or not." She kept her back turned towards him while she pulled off her shorts, and when she was about to pull off her t-shirt, she saw Killian walk past her, now dressed only in the swim shorts he had worn with a t-shirt. Emma stopped for a second, trying to not openly gape at the man now walking into the water. She knew he was very fit; she had been close enough to him when they had danced to know that he was all lean muscle and she had to shake her head to clear her thoughts.

She managed to put up a calm façade by the time he turned around and said, "Are you coming, Swan? The water is actually not that cold." He shot her a grin; apparently, she still had a strange look on her face.

Emma smiled meekly and waited for him to turn around, but apparently, he did not take the hint. He merely raised his eyebrow and waited for her to join him. She sighed in resignation and thought, well I might as well get this over with. She pulled her hair up in a loose knot and then shrugged out of her over-sized t-shirt. She looked anywhere but him when she did this. Only when she started walking out in the water did she find his eyes again. The grin on his face had turned into a gaping look that made her wonder what he saw when he looked at her. She looked down at herself-the bathing suit was modest enough. It was a one-piece thing with straps going around her neck. Small open cuts had been made down each side, giving a small glimpse of her waist.

Killian had seen how unsure she had acted when she got herself ready to get in the water with him. They were friends, but their friendship was still new, and both felt a bit unsure of how this was going to be. When she had slipped out of her t-shirt, he held his breath. He had tried not to openly ogle her form, but she was stunning in every way. He tried to give her a reassuring smile and then motioned for her to come out in the water with him.

"Hi." She smiled when she stood next to him, looking out over the water, "How are we doing this?" She looked back at him and explained, "I mean… have you done this before… I mean, practicing in the water?"

"Aye, I have. Well, only a few times… but it does work." Killian said and reached for her hand. He hoped she would relax enough for this to be successful.

Emma looked down at their clasped hands and she took a deep breath, she could do this.

"Okay then, let's do this," Emma finally said and raised her other hand to his shoulder. When her hand came in contact with his warm skin, she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. It was just too damn difficult when he was this close to her in all his bare-chested glory, the spattering of chest hair in her line of vision. She tried not to stare at his chest, so she raised her eyes and looked up at him.

He gave her a small smile and started to move in the water as if they were dancing. "Relax, love," he whispered and moved them in slow circles.

After several minutes of slow dancing, Emma finally relaxed, and they started to work on the lift. It turned out to be more of a challenge and when things went sideways, Emma would collapse in giggles and in the end and found it even harder to focus on making sure she stayed in the right position when Killian lifted her above his head. This resulted in multiple crashes under water for the both of them.

"I'm sorry, Killian, I'm really trying here," Emma spluttered, whipping away water from her face. She could see that he was a little frazzled by the fact that it didn't seem to work.

"It's fine, Emma, it is a matter of trust… both in your own ability to stay focused and keeping your body in the right position once you're above my head. And trust in me that I will not drop you."

Emma nodded, trying to focus on his words and not so much on the droplets of water running over his face.

"Okay, I think I got it… and Killian…" she locked her eyes with his, making sure he could see the honesty in her own, "…I do trust you, I think it's me I don't trust so much in… I'm sorry… I… well, in past experiences, trust has been sort of hard to find when you try to place your heart in another person's hand and they just drop it all on the ground."

She looked at him with huge eyes, surprising even herself at her story; she had not thought she would share her past misfortunes with him like this. But she felt she needed to let it out, mostly for her own sake, so she would be able to place her trust in him.

Killian gulped a breath of air while she spoke. This was huge. He'd had a feeling that Emma had been hurt in her past, but this…wow! "I would never drop you," he whispered, and gave her a rueful smile and added with a small shrug, "And if I ever held your heart, I would never drop that either." He bit his lip, hoping he had not overstepped.

Emma gaped at him in surprise. She had not imagined him saying that last part, and she could see how honest he was at this very moment. "Thank you, Killian, that means a lot to me." She squeezed his hand, letting him know she really knew she could trust him.

Killian cleared his throat and said, "You're welcome… now why don't we try that lift a few more times before calling it a day, hmm?" Emma nodded and took a deep breath as they got ready to do the lift once more.

It took several tries before Emma finally felt herself flying above Killian. It made her heart soar, and a spark of joy and something else leaped in her stomach. "I did it!" she squealed, then felt Killian gently lift her down in front of him. She let her hands rest on his shoulders; while they had practiced, she had not let her mind focus on how his skin felt under her fingers. But as her eyes caught his, she suddenly felt all air leave her. His eyes shone brightly with pure happiness and something else, something that might match the strange feeling she had inside of herself.

"You did it!" Killian finally found his voice. He had seen something else besides happiness over the successful lift in her eyes, and he dared not hope it matched what he had felt when she had practically laid her heart and trust in his hands.

"I did!" Emma breathed out, now nervously biting her lower lip. Why is my heart beating like this? She thought to herself as their eyes never wavered from each others'. When he nervously licked his lips, she felt mesmerised by the tiny action and she did for once in her life follow what her heart was now clearly screaming at her to do. She let her hands slide up his neck…she watched him take a deep breath, but he gave her a small half smile and waited. A second later, she pulled herself closer and let her lips gently touch his, trying to see how he felt about this.

Killian had watched her eyes grow an even darker shade of green, her mouth parted slightly, and when she had closed the gap between them and rested her lips against his, he did not dare believe this was actually happening. But when he suddenly felt the tip of her tongue flicker across his lower lip, he snapped and let one hand capture her face, pulling her closer while the other tried to stay on her waist. The warmth of her skin through the thin material of the bathing suit burned his palm.

Emma might have given a small whimper when he finally pulled her closer to him, but now she did not care. It felt right and true and boy this man could kiss. Then all else evaporated from her mind and she let herself be pulled into a heated and passionate kiss that left them both breathless.

They stood like this for several minutes before they both pulled away. Emma stayed close, still holding his face in her hands. She caught his eyes and what she found there was something she had not dared to find on this vacation, passion, adoration, maybe even love?

"That was…" she whispered breathlessly; she still felt a little lightheaded after that kiss.

"…hopefully not a one-time thing," Killian finished for her with a grin.

Emma shook her head and proclaimed: "Nope, definitely not a one-time thing."

"Good! Because I would not be able to walk away from here if… I mean, if we might be wrong about this… this thing that is happening between us… if all of this didn't mean the same to you. I've come to care a great deal about you, Emma." He gulped and tried to put together words that would let her know how he felt. "I hope you want to still be my friend and dance partner, while we try and figure out what all this means to us both."

"Killian… I want this… this to happen… the past week we've been practicing, I've done things I've never done before. You've showed me new ways to dance. I've come to care for you in a way I never thought I would for a man ever again. I got some old heartache, as you might know, and well… it shaped me into something that really isn't me. With you, everything has changed… I just need time to adjust to this change… I hope you understand." Emma looked up at him with worry in her eyes. She did not have great experience when it came to trust and trusting her heart to another person's care.

Killian could clearly see the past hurt and betrayal in her eyes and his heart ached for her. He had no idea why anyone could deliberately hurt someone as wonderful as Emma.

"I'm happy you want this to happen too, Emma. You make me very happy, and I promise you we will go as slow and in a tempo you feel okay with." Killian assured her and let his fingers caress her face, tugging a few stray hairs behind her ear.

"Thank you, Killian, that means a lot to me," Emma said with a small sigh, then she looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes, "I would love a kiss just like the one we just shared, if you don't mind?" She gave him a mischievous smile and when he broke into a wide grin, she felt her heart flutter in joy.

"As you wish!" Killian pulled her face to his and let his lips dance over hers in a gentle caress, but apparently Emma didn't want gentle this very moment. She pulled herself closer and deepened the kiss, letting her tongue part his lips. Killian groaned in response. She was making it very difficult to continue to act like the gentleman he had just claimed he wanted to be. His fingers dug into her hip as his other hand tangled in her hair.

When Emma finally pulled away from the kiss, she looked a bit dazed, but she whispered, "A girl could get used to kisses like this."

Killian laughed and claimed, "You only have to ask, love. I'd give you all the kisses you want."

Suddenly, Emma shivered a little. It was getting a bit cold standing still in the water. "Maybe we can continue on dry land?" Killian agreed and they walked up to find their towels, then sat down on the edge of the slope leading to the sand. They sat in silence for a few minutes and both tried figure out what had just happened. Emma started to think about how everyone around them would react if they became a couple. She turned to Killian with a bit of worry line on her forehead.

When Killian looked at her and saw this he asked, "What's wrong, love? Not having second thoughts here?"

Emma shook her head then explained, "No, not getting cold feet here, don't worry about that… It's just… given the place we're at right now. Technically speaking, you're fraternizing with a resort guest here… that would be me, I'm a resort guest… you know." Killian smirked at this and nodded. He knew this was true, but before he could respond she continued, "I don't want to be the cause of you losing your job, so we might have to leave this in the dark… this thing between us… I don't like that it has to be like this, but we must try at least." She took his hand in hers, needing his reassurance that this could work, even if they had to hide their budding relationship.

Killian took a deep breath and finally spoke, "I know, love. I hate the circumstances we've started out on here, and yes I could lose my job if our relationship would be known to everyone, especially the Evil Queen…" Killian sighed at the mere thought of this happening. He really needed this job. "But as I said, we can try to take this slow and just spend the time together we would anyway, with the practice for the charity event and the final show. At least we have that excuse to spend time together." Killian reasoned and squeezed her hand, lifting it up to place a tender kiss on her knuckles.

Emma felt her heart grow with even more feelings for the man next to her. She suddenly felt a bit teary eyed and had to shake her head to clear her emotions. "Thank you, Killian. I know we can do this, we just have to be careful with the PDA when being with people." Killian nodded in agreement.

They spent the rest of the afternoon just talking about random things in their lives; Emma found it surprisingly easy to share things with Killian. She even briefly mentioned how Neal had crushed her heart a few years ago, and Killian spoke of how his brother had died the year before. They had both had their share of hardships in their lives.

Finally, they made their way back to the resort, and before they came to the big grassy area, they parted ways.

"I've got a shortcut up to my cabin from here," Killian explained and pointed to a small path between the trees. Emma nodded in understanding; they had to part ways before they would be seen together, and she bit her lips and tried to keep calm. But when Killian placed a hand on her face, she did smile at him, then she leaned closer and placed a small kiss on his lips. They both agreed to meet the next day for a practice. "You can come around 1 o'clock in the afternoon… I got one of those private sessions with Mrs. Gold an hour later," Killian explained.

"Sure, that will be fine. Until then," Emma whispered and stole one last kiss from him before she walked away to find her parents. Killian walked up the small path to his cabin, his heart filled with hope and yes, he dared say it: love.

Emma only hoped that her mother would not pick up on the cheerfulness that Emma felt bubbling inside of her. Her mother had a knack for reading her daughter when something new had happened in her life. She did give her a strange look and asked a few questions, but Emma told her that she had practiced with Killian in the water, explaining that the lift was rather tricky and they had tried to do it in the water first. She claimed the happy smile on her face was due to the fact that they in the end had managed to do the lift successfully. Her mother seemed to buy that explanation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: hope you like this... let me know in a review... next chapter is at my beta and it will be up the second (almost ;) ) I get it back...


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dress rehearsal and a look at Killian's pirate outfit. And two friends that suspect something is up between Emma and Killian. Enjoy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: next chapter... still a huge thanks goes to my beta...(PS: I'm using the amazing song by Christina Perri, "The words" in this... it really IS my favorite song... (if you've read my story "The words" you know this ;) But that whole album "Head or Heart" have pretty much been my music muse through this whole writing process... I simply CAN'T write listening to anything else... believe I've tried... check it out if you haven't heard it... :) )

Chapter 9

Emma woke up with a smile on her lips, her heart skipped a beat when she recalled the day before. She had actually kissed Killian, and more than once. The smile grew as she thought more of what had happened the day before. She might now be ready to acknowledge that she was in love with a man she had known for a week and a half. But the instant connection that had grown between them in their time together had given Emma reassurance that this was real, and she was happy. She tried to keep her face neutral and composed, but her mother's constant raised eyebrows indicated that she failed miserably at this. She merely shrugged her shoulders at her mother's inquiries over her happy face. In the end, her mother gave up with a small huff and Emma could see her father grin into his coffee cup as he eyed his wife's feeble attempts to draw out information from Emma.

When Emma walked outside with her brother, she could hear her father say, "Let her be, sweetheart. She will tell us when she is ready, okay?" Her mother's answer was an audible sigh.

Emma laughed at this, and when her brother asked what was so funny, she answered, "It's nothing kid. What was it you wanted to do this morning?"

Then she was dragged along to an area filled with various lawn games and pulled into several games of croquet where she teamed up with her brother against a mother and her young daughter. She ended up having fun.

She had to drag her brother back to the cabin to grab an early lunch so she could meet with Killian at 1 o'clock. Her mother was strangely quiet during lunch, but she wished her daughter good luck with the practice and busied herself with cleaning up after lunch. Emma shook her head over her mother's weird behavior. She knew her mother wanted to know what was going on in her life, but this thing with Killian she wanted to keep for herself, for the time being.

When she got closer to the studio, she was surprised to hear music. Curious, she walked into the room and could see Killian doing a solo routine in front of the mirror, seemingly in his own little world. She paused and just let herself enjoy the view. And what a view it was. He was dressed in tight dance pants that hugged his legs in a far too sinful way. He also wore a loose white t-shirt with its sleeves cut off, showing his upper arms. Emma really did try to not ogle the man, but it seemed to be far too difficult not to do so, and the thought that this man was harboring feelings for her that ran deeper than friendship was something that she still had to get used to.

Killian did a twirl and finally spotted her by the door. He stopped the second his eyes landed on her and he broke into a wide smile. Emma felt her own face break into an equal broad smile, and she walked over to him. He met her halfway there, and without giving it much thought the two melted together in an embrace that quickly turned into a slow, sweet kiss.

When they finally parted, Killian grinned down at her. "Hello there, love. Missed me, I see." He waggled his eyebrows.

Emma swatted his shoulder and laughed, "So sure of yourself, eh, buddy?"

"Well, since I currently get to kiss the most beautiful lady in all the land, I'm entitled to be a bit smug about how my life is right now." Killian let his hand trail down her face, tilting her mouth towards his, and kissed her again.

Emma barely managed to mumble, "Hmm, sure you are."

They finally parted and both took a few moments to compose themselves. Emma ran a hand through her disheveled hair, trying to wrangle it into a manageable ponytail. Killian reluctantly walked over to the sound system and said, "So, we better get some practice done, since I do have this private class with Mrs. Gold in an hour." The tone of his voice clearly indicated that he really didn't want to do it.

"Look, Killian, I understand you need to take on the extra classes, and the money talks, as you said the other day. We'll just work hard for the next hour and we can practice again tomorrow. Oh, by the way, maybe we should invite Ruby and even Will, if he is off duty, so they can fail spot us. We've come a long way with both the waltz and the pirate dance. We could use an outside perspective to see how it all looks."

"Aye, that will be a fine idea," Killian looked at his schedule and said, "I actually think Will is off duty tomorrow morning, so he and I can go up and help Ruby down here. I know she is still on crutches. Then we can go over the routine with them. Hey, bring your dress. We can do an early dress rehearsal." Killian smiled. He couldn't wait for Emma to see him in his pirate ensemble.

"Great, sounds like a good plan," Emma said and walked over to him, and he turned on the music for the waltz.

Emma looked at him in puzzlement; the song was different, and before she could ask him he explained, "I heard this song the other day and thought we could use it for the waltz. It's a modern song, but it would work great with the waltz we have planned. I know we used a classical piece of music, but what do you think?" He looked at her hopefully as the song "The Words" flowed out of the speakers. Emma knew of the song and she liked it.

"It's perfect. Shall we dance, Captain?" Emma asked with a smile as she did a small curtsy.

Killian laughed and said, "As you wish."

They glided effortlessly into the waltz they had practiced many times now. While they danced, Emma tried not to focus on the way their bodies touched during the dance. She was suddenly very much aware of where his body was and how wonderful it felt being in his arms. The dance went smoothly, and they only did a few tweaks here and there.

Then they practiced the pirate routine. They still needed to do much more work on this, and every time they got to the lift, Emma was still a bit hesitant to try it out of the water. Killian told her they could go down to the lake in a few days to try the lift again.

"You just want to see me in a bathing suit again, don't you?" Emma asked with a laugh and winked at him. She loved how flustered he suddenly became at this, and she placed her hands on his face. "It's okay, you know… and hey, I get to see you too, in only your swim shorts." Emma smiled and let one of her hands slide down to rest on his chest right over his heart.

Killian smirked at this then forgot they were actually practicing. He leaned down and kissed her with a fierceness that surprised them both. Emma held on to him while they kissed, and she pulled herself closer.

When they finally pulled apart and composed themselves, Killian walked over to his phone, looking at the time.

"Bloody hell! Mrs. Gold is coming in only 15 minutes," he exclaimed, seeming a little panicked. He glanced over at Emma. She looked like she had just been ravished and he had to hide his proud smirk that this was all his doing. He still could not comprehend that this lovely and amazing Swan was his… what they had was yet to be labeled, but his something… his someone who he wanted to spend more time with, time they did not have at the moment.

"Oh, God," Emma looked in horror at her own reflection in the large mirror. Her ponytail looked frazzled and her face was bright red, her lips were kiss-swollen and eyes shone with something she had yet to name.

"Here, take something to drink, love, and maybe it might be best if you leave the studio before Mrs. Gold shows up. You eh… look thoroughly ravished… as lovely as that look is on you, I don't think it's wise to let her see you like this, eh?" Killian said with a sad smile. He hated to see her leave so suddenly. He gave her bottle of water and hoped she would not take it the wrong way that he sort of shoved her out the door.

Emma sighed as she took the bottle of water. She took a drink, and then she shook her head, "No, it might be for the best, but we will see each other tomorrow then, around 9?" Killian nodded and she added, "I'll bring the dress, and you bring your pirate garb. Can't wait to see you in it." She smirked and waggled her eyebrows at him. She loved the sheepish look this brought to his face. She walked over to him and gave him a small kiss on his cheek. "Until tomorrow then, eh, Captain?"

Killian smiled and nodded, "Aye, until tomorrow, princess Swan." He wanted to keep her close, but knew she had to leave now so she would not run into Mrs. Gold. He sighed as Emma walked out of the studio. Then he turned to the sound system and found a classical piece of music. Mrs. Gold had said she wanted to do the more classical dancing.

Emma spent the rest of the day with a pensive smile on her face, a smile her mother did try to figure out. But Emma just shrugged it off as being occupied with the dance routines they had worked on earlier.

The next morning, Emma found her pirate wench dress and ate a quick breakfast before walking up to the dance studio.

When she got to the studio, both Will and Ruby was already there. She tried to send Killian a small smile without them seeing it. She was a little sad that she had not gotten there before Will and Ruby, as she had sort of been looking forward to kissing Killian again. Given the slightly sad smile on Killian's lips, he had hoped so too. Emma busied herself with placing her dress on an empty chair and greeted Ruby and Will.

"How is it going with your foot, Ruby?" Emma asked. She had tried to keep in touch with her new friend the past few days, sending off endless texts.

"Oh, it's getting better. I can walk around now with this stupid thing." Ruby sighed and kicked the crutch with her good foot.

Emma patted her shoulder and said, "It will get better. I'm just sorry you missed out on this dance thing."

"Oh, don't be. I know you will do just fine with it all. I can't wait to see the two of you all dressed up as pirates." Ruby smiled and waggled her eyebrows.

Emma laughed and waved her off, then turned towards Killian. She bit her lower lip as she approached him. She tried to school her features in a neutral composure but looking at herself in the mirrors, she realized she might have failed. She sighed and turned away from the mirrors, "So what are we doing first, you think?"

Killian had been occupying himself with setting up the music, and when Emma came over to him, he tensed a little. He too found it hard to act normal around Emma. But their friends were in the room with them and they did not really need other people to know about them, not even their friends. At least not now, so soon, when they hadn't even put a label on what "this" was.

"Ah, I was thinking the waltz and then take a small break and change into the pirate costumes after that," Killian managed to get out, and found the play button on the sound system. The notes of "The Words" flew out of the speakers and before they started the dance, Emma could see Ruby raise an eyebrow at their choice of song, then a big wolfish grin spread over her face. Oh, she was so on to them, Emma realized with dread. Then she let herself focus on the dance and they did it almost to perfection.

"That was bloody brilliant, mate!" Will exclaimed with excitement and walked over to them. He clapped Killian on the back. "The two of you make quite the dance team. I mean, Ruby was amazing with you, but this Lady Swan makes the Jones team just perfect, eh… What you say, Rubes?" Will turned to Ruby with a big smile.

Ruby tried to hide a big grin behind her hand, then waved aimlessly towards the group of friends. "Oh hell yes, they do make quite the team there." Her eyes shone with mischief and Emma had a feeling she might know something had happened between them.

Her suspicion was confirmed once Ruby had hobbled into the bathroom with Emma to help her into the pirate dress. The first thing Ruby said once they were out of earshot from the boys was, "So spill the beans, lady. What happened between the two of you?" When Emma tried to protest and wave it all off, Ruby stated firmly, "Aha girl, don't tell me nothing happened. The two of you have this glow around you, and you keep sending googly eyes at one another… I know something happened… I got a sixth sense about stuff like this."

Emma looked at her with a smirk when she said the last part, then chuckled, "The same sixth sense that took you over a month to realize you had the hots for Will out there?" Emma tried to steer away from what was going on between herself and Killian. But she knew her new friend would not give up.

"Pish posh, that is not important what is going on between Will and I, you all know that. Look Emma, I'm only curious, because I've come to like and care about you as a friend. I know Killian is a good guy, and the two of you have obviously stepped into something new."

Emma sighed in defeat as she adjusted the white shirt around her shoulders, tying the ribbon that held the neckline together.

"Okay, something did happen. I'm… I mean, we just don't really know where that thing is taking us. We are trying to take things slow… you know, he works here, and technically this is fraternizing with a resort guest… he could lose his job you know." Emma ran her hands through her loose hair, trying to make it look good.

"Oh, I knew it… Look, I know this sucks given the situation, but for what it's worth, I'm super happy for the two of you." Ruby said with a smile, and then she helped Emma secure the cincher around her waist.

"Thank you, and hope we will be able to keep this a secret for the remaining of the summer." Emma sighed; she knew it might be hard.

Ruby didn't try to pry out more details from her new friend. She could see that Emma was a little torn and troubled by their situation.

As they walked out into the dance studio, Ruby leaning heavily on her crutch, they saw that Killian had dressed in his pirate ensemble. Emma stopped in her tracks as she took him in, shite that man could dress. He wore leather pants and a black button-down shirt. Only half the buttons were done, giving a nice view of the smattering of chest hair Emma had gotten a closer look at the other day. Over the black shirt, he wore a red vest. It was all topped off with a black, long, high-collared leather duster cut just below his knees.

"Holy smokes!" Ruby whispered into her ear, then she walked further into the room, leaving Emma behind. She was still gaping at the man she was supposed to dance with.

"Where's your hook, Captain?" Ruby joked when she walked past Killian, "Didn't you say you would be Captain Hook?"

Killian laughed a little sheepishly at Ruby's joke. "Ah, well, I wanted to try to do the dance without the hook. I'm not sure it would work with a lift when I would only have one hand."

Then he turned back to Emma, who was still slightly stunned at the view in front of her. He raised a questioning eyebrow her way and let his arm spread out, showing off his costume, "What ya think, would this work for the pirate, princess Swan?"

"Ah… that… is… eh… you look…" Emma stammered and tried to compose herself. She walked over, unable to get her eyes off of him.

Killian smirked and gave an overdramatic bow and said, "Shall we dance, milady?"

"We shall, Captain," Emma managed to get out, and she barely registered that Will had pressed the play button as the music of "Pirates of the Caribbean" flowed through the speakers. She let herself be swept into the dance routine they had practiced. It was very different now that they had the costumes on. Things had to change a little here and there, only small details, and in the end they had it all planned out. Ruby and Will both helped with ideas on how to make it flow even better.

They did the routine a few times before calling it a day. Emma quickly changed into her own clothes and walked out to the others.

"You know, Emma, we have to see if that dress I have for the waltz will fit you. Why don't you come with me up to my cabin and you can try it on?" Ruby asked as she rose from her seat. Will was at her side the second she tried to stand up.

Emma agreed to this, then shot Killian a glance to see if he wanted to join them. He nodded in agreement; he was not ready to part with Emma just yet.

The group of friends walked up to Ruby's cabin. It was a slow process with Ruby hobbling along on a crutch, but Will was at her side the whole time. Emma looked at the couple in front of her and smiled fondly at the obvious affection between them. She shot a look at Killian, who walked next to her. Did they look the same when people looked at them? She wanted that, very much, though for the time being no one could know anything. She hoped they could keep it all a secret for the remainder of the summer.

When they came to the cabin, Emma walked with Ruby into her bedroom and Ruby found the pale pink dress. Emma changed into it. It had a heart-shaped neckline with straps going around her neck. The skirt flared out from her waist, giving it a nice volume with all the extra layers of fabric under the skirt. It was embroidered on the neckline and hemline with small rhinestones, giving it a shimmering effect.

"It is going to standout in the spotlight and show off the dress, and the gorgeous woman wearing it," Ruby explained with a smile when she saw Emma gently touch the stones.

"Not sure I like that thought very much… I mean, people watching me." Emma sighed, twirling around a little in front of the mirror trying to get a feel of the dress. It was very nice and true to Ruby's words, very 50's-style cut just around her knees.

"You don't have to worry about that. The two of you do make quite a team when you dance. People will love it," Ruby tried to reassure her friend.

Emma just shrugged at this, still not believing it herself. She walked out to Killian and Will and showed off the dress. Emma only sought out Killian's eyes and what she saw there made her smile; he looked at her in amazement, and a glint of something else. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Ruby, who hobbled over to Will and whispered, "Follow me to the porch, will ya'?" Will looked a bit clueless at first, but then Ruby gave him a pointed stare and indicated towards their friends with a small nod of her head.

"Oh, I see. Come love, let's get some air, shall we?" Will took her hand and walked out with a smirk on his face. He had a few things to talk to Killian about later.

"Do you like it?" Emma asked nervously and smoothed her hands over the fabric of the dress. Then she looked up at him, biting her lower lip.

"Bloody hell, this is looking good on you Swan, it truly is," Killian uttered in awe. Then he closed the distance between them with a few strides and reached out to take her hands in his.

"Thank you," Emma whispered a bit shyly. She took a small step closer to Killian; she had seen Ruby and Will walk out and knew they had given them the privacy of the cabin. Something that she wanted to take advantage of.

"I missed you," she breathed out and squeezed his hand, hoping he would just kiss her. He seemed to read her mind as he let go of her hands and stepped even closer, resting his hands on her hips. She raised her head to his and closed the gap between them. They both hummed in satisfaction at finally being able to kiss. They had spent the whole morning practicing in front of Ruby and Will and now they were finally alone. Emma let her hands slide around his neck, running her fingers through the short hairs there. The kiss deepened and Emma could care for nothing else but the fact that she could kiss Killian.

After several minutes of this, they finally pulled apart and gasped for air, both trying to get their bearings again.

"Bloody hell, I missed you too, love. I hate that we have to hide like this." Killian sighed and hugged her closer, burying his face in the mass of hair at her neck. The scent of Emma filled his nostrils-spring flowers and cinnamon.

"I know, Killian, me too, but I don't want you to lose your job. We can manage this, I know we can," Emma stated firmly, hugging him close, her fingers still sliding though his hair.

Minutes later, they pulled apart and Emma chose to change back into her own clothes so they could join their friends on the porch. She was grateful for the fact that Ruby had given them some privacy; she only hoped that Will would be kind and not grill Killian too much. When she walked out of the room, Killian waited for her. He took her hand and they walked out to their friends. Luckily, Ruby's cabin was somewhat hidden from view, and they could still hold hands without being caught. Will did raise a smug eyebrow at his friend when he saw their clasped hands. Killian only shrugged and he knew that there would be questions from his friend later. For now, the four friends enjoyed the rest of the morning until they parted ways. Will had to meet for the afternoon shift at the hotel; Killian had another private session with Mrs. Gold before his regular afternoon class.

Emma stayed back for one more hour, helping Ruby get some lunch, and the girls talked about how things had changed. Emma even opened up a little about what might had happened down at the lake and how they had had their first kiss trying to practice that lift. Ruby was happy for her friends and promised to keep it all under wraps. When lunch was over, Emma left Ruby to her book and found her family. The rest of the day was spent with them. She found it more and more difficult to hide the permanent smile on her face whenever her mother asked her about the dance. But she was not ready to share anything with her mother and father just yet.

That night, she might have dreamed of a devilishly hot pirate and dancing swans dressed in twirling pink dresses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hope you like this chapter, next one will be a bit more drama, this one is just fluff and easy-going things, so hopefully I get the next chapter right. Let me know in a review what you think of this... thanks


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when a misunderstanding comes between Emma and Killian...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry for the delay... had to find a new beta... my previous beta had to bail out due to real-life... :/ Welcome EttaRose16, it's very sweet of her to do this for me... she works a bit differently than my old beta but hopes it all works out in the end.
> 
> Longer chapter, and with a bit of drama slightly angst... but not very much as I'm a sucker for sweet fluffy things... hope I wrote the sad parts okay... :) ?
> 
> I hope you enjoy this...
> 
> PS: I've seem to have forgotten to post in the rich text mode before... so some formating might or well they HAVE gone missing I'm sure... sorry about that... will try to do this in the future so cursive etc will be right... :)

Chapter 10

The next day Emma woke up and joined her family for breakfast, she had gotten a text from Killian last night asking if she could meet him this morning at 10 o'clock. He had told her that he had a private session with Mrs. Gold before this so she should not come early. As so Emma walked up to the dance studio a little later than she usually would.

When she came closer to the studio she was very surprised to hear the heavy rhymes of a tango. Curiously she walked into the studio, the song was in its final stages and the couple dancing was moving in slow movements around the room. Emma hid partly behind the door frame as she looked inside, she could hardly believe her own eyes. Killian was holding a brightly smiling Mrs. Gold in his arms, far too close than Emma liked, but she did know the tango was danced close, but still, it did something strange to her heart seeing Killian being so absorbed in a dance with another woman. She did not like the feeling.

The music stopped and Mrs. Gold laughed wholeheartedly while she kept her hands on Killian, Emma managed to hear her words, "I'm loving this more and more Killian, thank you for showing me this dance, it is invigorating to be able to let loose like this with someone who loves dancing as much as I do, my husband doesn't enjoy dancing as such." She gave out a dramatic sigh at this, and Emma could see her batting her eyes at Killian giving him a flirty smile. Emma could not see Killian's face from where she stood; a small shrug of his shoulders was his only reply. Before they parted Mrs. Gold spoke again with a small smile on her lips, "until next time eh, ma chérie." Emma held back a gasp when she stepped closer and placed a kiss on each of Killian's cheeks. She did not need to see more, her heart shattered into a million pieces at this display of affection and Killian just stood there doing nothing, _why?_ Her heart cried in pain as she stumbled her way back to her cabin, thankfully her parents had left to do stuff with Leo. She buried herself in her bed and pulled the covers over her head. Her mind going more and more numb the more she repeated the scene from the studio inside her head. It could not be real; the past couple of days had been the happiest in her whole life. She had not even felt this happy and free when she had been with Neal. She had never thought that Killian would betray her like this; it was not something he would do. But the scene in the studio had shown her something else. Her mind shut down as the tears welled up in her eyes, and she cried herself to sleep, not hearing her parents come back for lunch hours later.

Killian had finally been able to free himself from the grasp of Mrs. Gold, he had tried to politely give her a hint that he had other commitments after this session, but she had insisted of him teaching her the tango. As such, they had done yet another dance and Mrs. Gold seemed to enjoy herself far more than Killian cared for. He had seen the twinkle in her eyes change the more they danced, and when she had finished by calling him "chéri" he had stood in shock as she had placed kisses on his cheek. He had come to know that she was French and knowing it was just a French custom he tried to let it slide, but something in his gut told him that this was not going as well as he had hoped. He had to do these private sessions, it gave him the extra money and it was expected of him by Regina Mills that the staff would go above and beyond to make the guests happy. But Killian did not deal well with flirts, even if it gave him some extra money.

When Mrs. Gold finally walked out of the studio Killian realized that the time was past 10 o'clock where he was supposed to meet with Emma. He looked outside hoping that she would just have waited nearby until he had finished his session with Mrs. Gold. He groaned when he did not see her anywhere. He picked out his phone and tried to call her, she did not pick up, _strange?_ Then he quickly shot off a text: _"Love, I'm sorry the session with Mrs. Gold took a wee bit longer, I'm free until lunch… come when you read this and we can take lunch together at least, hope you see this. Love you. 3 "_

Killian hung back in the studio until well after lunch and when Emma never showed up he started to become worried. He was not sure it would be a good idea to walk down to her cabin asking for her. He had no idea how much of their relationship she had shared with her parents, well they did know they danced together. With this in mind, he took a chance and walked to Emma's cabin.

Emma's mother had found their daughter lying in bed when they had returned to eat lunch, she could see her tear-streaked face and swollen red eyes and she knew something had happened. Knowing her daughter she also knew that Emma would not be ready to talk right away, but Mary Margaret did put two and two together and realized something had to have happened between Emma and Killian, and not something nice it seemed.

It was not a surprise when after lunch Leo came into the cabin and told that Mr. Killian wanted to talk to Emma. Mary Margaret had told her husband about her worries for their daughter and what might or might not had happened between the two young ones. David walked out to meet the young man, who looked a little frazzled and out of sorts, he kept running an agitated hand through his unruly hair, pacing back and forth.

"Killian?" David asked when he stepped down to meet Killian.

Killian looked up at Emma's father and gulped down when he saw the pained and slightly angry glare in the other man's face. "Mr. Nolan… I need to see your daughter… you see she never showed up for our morning practice and I'm sort of worried something happened to her… I don't know why she never came… is she okay… she never returned my calls or text… I…" Killian sighed and slumped down on a nearby bench standing in front of the cabin. He placed his face in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. _What the bloody hell happened?_ Killian kept thinking over and over. He braved a look at Emma's father, the man looked deep in thought then finally looked at Killian.

"Look, son, I have no idea what is going on between you and my daughter, I know you are doing this dance for the charity event, and my wife and I have been happy that our daughter found new friends and something to do this summer that she enjoys. But now… now she is hiding in her bed not wanting to talk to either of us. So whatever happened between the two of you, you better fix this!" David looked at the young man sharply.

Killian sighed and leaned back against the backrest of the bench running his hands over his face, as silent curse ran over his lips.

"Mr. Nolan I'm just as curious as to what has happened for her to hide in her bed… I have no bloo… I have no idea what happened. All I know is that I had a private dance session this morning with another guest, and Emma was to come later so we could practice. I never saw her at the studio."

"Well, she did walk up to the studio this morning, I know because we followed her halfway there before parting ways down at the lake," David explained.

"She never showed up, at least not that I know of..." Killian tried to get his mind to think of why she would never have come in if she had walked to the studio. Then a dreadful thought struck him… his session with Mrs. Gold had dragged on past 10 so it might just be that Emma had come and witnessed the parting scene between him and Mrs. Gold. She might even have heard her call him "chéri". Knowing how Emma had been hurt in her past he could easily imagine how this would look in her eyes had she only seen half of it.

"Bloody hell…" He mumbled when he realized this, he looked up at Mr. Nolan with a pensive smile, "I think she might have misunderstood something she saw up in the studio… could you tell her I really _really_ need to talk to her, and this is all a misunderstanding." He didn't want to give away how they had grown closer than mere friends over the past couple of days.

David raised a curious eyebrow at the young man's admission, _what exactly was going on between him and their daughter?_ Before he could reply he felt his wife reach for his hand, she had listened from the porch and now looked at Killian with a bit of sympathy written all over her face.

"Killian, I'm not sure she is ready to talk to anyone right now. I will try to talk to her later, and promise I will make her call you so you can talk this… whatever it is… out with one another. Give her some time, please." Mary Margaret looked sadly at Killian she could see how distraught he was over this whole thing. It wasn't like Emma to abandon things like a commitment to dance at a charity event. Whatever had happened it had to be something running deeper than just a mere spat between dance partners. But she did not want to give away her suspicion about their change in the relationship, this would have to be something Emma would tell once she was ready.

Killian sighed in defeat, and then he said, "Thanks, and know this, I would never intentionally hurt your daughter, but I think I might have screwed up but it honestly is a complete misunderstanding. Will you let her know I said this?" He looked to Emma's mother, who nodded her head, "I will do just that, just give her time."

Time! They did not have that much time; they had 4 days until the charity event. He bid the Nolans farewell and walked up to his cabin with a glare on his face. Before he reached the sanctuary of his cabin he ran into his friend Will. He groaned, he did not need the grilling from his friend just now. Will had already started the night before when they had taken a pint up at the staff bar.

"Oy mate, care for an afternoon drink, we still got loads to talk about, you know about your lady Swan." Will joked as he walked up to his friend, when he saw the thunderous look on Killian's face he stopped talking.

"Not in the mood Will, not today…please," Killian begged and sighed, he was not ready to lay down the cards as it was. He had dodged every inquiry Will had shot his way last night about his relationship with Emma.

"Sorry mate, well whatever you did you might have to work a bit harder to fix it with the lady, you are due to dance with her in some days, eh?" Will had quickly gathered that Killian's dark mood had to have something to do with Emma.

"That is bloody difficult when she does not even want to talk to me, or her parents for that matter… and yes I went down there… talked to the parents… God, I'm a mess. Ain't I?" Killian said rubbing his face in his hands.

"What happened?" Will asked cautiously, he knew that Killian rarely spoke of deep matters of the heart.

"It's all a bloody misunderstanding, but since Emma doesn't want to talk to me how the hell am I supposed to tell her that?" Killian asked in anger and frustration, he looked at his friend, they had been through a lot together during their friendship, and he knew he could trust Will. Finally, he let the whole story out to his friend. How he suspected that Emma might have witnessed Mrs. Gold kiss him and call him "chéri".

Will looked at his friend in surprise, and then, "you know wha'? Those French people do kiss on the cheek when saying goodbye to people they are close to. Maybe the dear Mrs. Gold is just being friendly in her own French way…?" Will shrugged; he had seen the lady in question move among the other guests up at the hotel, being mighty affectionate with the people close to her. When he told Killian this he nodded but it still didn't help him much in the matter of convincing Emma this was in fact what had happened. He had come close to Mrs. Belle during their private session and he had felt they could understand each other, but Killian had still tried to keep a professional distance to the woman. Apparently, she had seen things otherwise.

"This might be the reason for her to kiss me, but how the bloody hell do I get that information to Emma when she does not want to talk to me?" Killian shot back still very frustrated.

"You know I could go up and talk with Ruby, maybe we can get her to talk to Emma… I can help her walk down to Emma's cabin; they can have a girl talk… I don't know… the lady Swan is a tough cookie at times when it comes to feelings I imagine." Will tried to come up with a solution.

Killian smiled weakly at his friend, the plan might work. He waved his hand towards Ruby's cabin, "go try it mate, I'll just wait in my cabin, try to text her again, I mean she has to look at her phone right?" Will agreed to this and trekked up to Ruby's cabin, letting her know that the whole charity dance was in danger of being a bust if they did not talk some sense into Emma.

Emma had vaguely heard her parents talk with someone outside and when she realized that the person was Killian she had stayed in her room. She was not going to see the man, ever again, to hell with the charity dance. She didn't care. She had seen the text he had sent to her but never replied.

Her mother had come in trying to talk with her, Emma had attempted to give her a fib about her and Killian had argued about some dance-related stuff. She just needed some time to get over this, she promised her mother, but as her mother walked out of the room she could see that her mother knew she had not told the whole tale of what had happened. Emma was not fond of holding secrets from her parents, but her relationship with Killian had been so raw and new that she had yet to place a label on what exactly they were.

A few hours later there was a knock on her door and her mother told her that Ruby was here to see her. Ruby? Emma was curious, and said she could come in; she wiped her face real quick, getting rid of any leftover tears from her last cry.

"Hey girl," Ruby said a bit pensive as she hobbled inside and found a chair to sit on. Emma looked at her new friend with a sad smile.

"Listen I know things have gone sideways between you and Killian, he is a right mess I tell you that much. Will came to my cabin after talking to him; I know the big details of what might have happened." Ruby tried to explain.

"I don't want to hear it, I know what I saw!" Emma bit out a bit harshly hoping her new friend would get that she didn't want to talk about Killian.

Ruby scratched behind her ear and sighed, "I thought as much, but look he is miserable and whatever you saw between him and that Gold lady was nothing…"

"It sure as hell looked like _something_ to me."

"Look did you know that Belle Gold is French? Will says so; he has seen her being mighty comfy leaving kisses on whoever she feels close to. And having danced with Killian the past week might have put him in the same category for her… what do I know…?" Ruby tried to explain why Emma had seen Mrs. Gold kiss Killian.

Emma bit her lips as she pondered over Ruby's words, it would make sense, but she could not forget what she saw.

"Did you see how he reacted to the kiss and sweet talk?" Ruby asked a bit warily knowing that one wrong word might make Emma close up again.

"No." Emma shrugged and hugged her legs to her body, resting her back against the headboard of her bed.

"Honestly I do think that the dear Mrs. Gold is just being friendly, slightly over the top perhaps, but Will have seen the Gold couple in the hotel and they can't keep their hands to themselves, they act like newlyweds…" Ruby shudder at this then added, "For the life of me I have no idea what she even sees in the man, he gives me the creeps and he is so much older than her." Ruby had run into the Golds on time when she had to talk with the sleazeball Walsh about her dance class schedule and who would take over now she couldn't do it in the next few weeks.

Emma smiled at this; she had seen the couple that first day when they had come to the hotel. Could it just be a stupid misunderstanding?

"Look, Emma, would it make it all worse to just try and talk with Killian?" Ruby asked gently.

Emma bit her lips she didn't feel ready to talk to the man, but if it was the truth Ruby was telling then she was the one being stupid. After a few minutes of silence, she grabbed her phone and saw that Killian had sent another text an hour ago, she had turned off the volume as she didn't want to talk to anyone.

_Emma, talk to me… please…this whole thing is one giant misunderstanding, nothing has happened between me and Mrs. Gold, and nothing will ever happen. Whatever you saw in the studio was something I did not anticipate she took me by surprise, but know this: my heart does not belong to anyone but you, I love you._ The text ended with a series of kisses and heart emojis.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes when she read the text, she had been so stupid and she could feel the pain in her heart at the thought of how hurt Killian had also felt because of her.

"Go talk to him, eh?" Ruby encouraged with a wave of her hand shooing her out of the door. Emma stood up and looked in her mirror… she looked dreadful. She hurried out into the bathroom and scrubbed her face and pulled her hair in a ponytail. Ruby had a huge grin on her face when she emerged again, Emma said, "Thank you Ruby" She walked over and gave her friend a giant hug.

"Your welcome girl, now go to your man, will ya!" Ruby practically pushed out of the door.

"What about you, how did you get down here?" Emma suddenly realized that Ruby would have had to have hobbled down to her cabin on her crutch.

"Will took me down here; think he is playing ball with your brother." Ruby grinned, then made a shooing motion with her hand again, "Get out of here will you."

Emma gave a small laugh, it seemed she had found some true friends in Ruby and Will, and whatever she had found in Killian she might get an answer to real soon. She rushed out of the cabin giving her mother a short message that she would be gone for the rest of the afternoon, and she may or may not be returning for dinner.

Emma ran the whole way up to Killian's cabin; she took a few seconds to get her breathing back to normal before she knocked on the door. Before he opened the door a thought struck her, she had never actually been in his cabin before, he had pointed out the location but she had never actually been inside. She gulped down a breath of air trying to calm down her nerves, why was she so nervous?

When the door finally opened by a disheveled looking Killian she suddenly didn't know what to say. But when his eyes lit up at the sight of her on his doorsteps, she finally breathed out, "I'm sorry, Killian I'm so, so sorry, I… might have misunderstood what I saw this morning… I thought you… you and Mrs. Gold… oh god, I'm so sorry Killian… can you… will you forgive me?" her words did not make sense once she listened to herself, she only hoped that Killian could put it all together and understand what she so desperately wanted him to know.

Killian took a deep breath, he had not dared hope that Emma would be standing on his doorstep so soon, and when the words kept tumbling out of her mouth he smiled and shook his head, this woman had shot him straight on a rollercoaster ride of emotion this day, and he felt a pang of something starting to resurface inside his heart.

"Love, stop…!" Killian said with a laugh and reached over with his hand to place a finger on her lips, trying to silence her, but a small, "I'm sorry" still moved past her lips. Killian could see tears form in her eyes. He gulped down; this had not been easy for her he knew that.

He stepped closer to her and let his hand rest on her cheek, gently caressing her skin with his thumb. Emma sucked in a breath of air at his action; she could see the affection quite clear in his impossibly blue eyes that shone with something powerful.

Emma bit on her lower lip as he just kept looking at her, she didn't know if he had even forgiven her.

"I'm sorry," She whispered again, taking a deep breath and placed her hand on his chest, she could feel his heartbeat under her palm.

"There is nothing to be sorry for love, what you saw was nothing to me. Mrs. Gold tends to be a bit affectionate in her approach to people around her." Killian tried to explain.

"I know."

"So we're good here, I mean you and me, Emma?" Killian whispered as he pulled her closer to him. Emma went willingly into his arms and raised her head, and nodded, "We're good… more than good I think." She smirked as she looked into his eyes, her eyes drifted down to his lips.

Killian watched as her eyes drift to his lips and when she moistens her lips with the tip of her tongue he closed the gap between them slanting his mouth over hers. Emma felt her heart skip a beat when his lips finally found hers; she let her mouth open to his prying tongue wrapping herself up in the kiss.

When they finally parted Killian looked at her with a huge smile on his face, "I'm sorry you had to go through such heartache today love, I should have tried to end the private session with Mrs. Gold sooner."

"It's fine Killian, sure I was gutted and hurt when I thought… thought… you know… we've just started with this, with us being… I don't even know…" She looked up at him, "what exactly are we Killian?"

"I know what I want us to be Emma because you have stolen my heart you know, it might be me dressing up as a pirate in a few days, but you've pillaged and plundered into my life and I've given you my heart willingly… I know it will be safe with you." Killian spoke with a certainty to his voice that made Emma gasp in surprise. He was such an earnest and utterly sweet loving man, she gulped down a breath of air.

"Wow, not even sure what to respond to that, I'm not a word person you know." Emma grinned sheepishly looked down at the floor. She took a deep breath and did what she knew best, showing how she felt, she grabbed his shirt in her fists and pulled him close, "I know I want to do this with you every day." She let the words whisper over his skin as she leaned in closer until she kissed him again. The kiss spoke more than words could ever express, her heart was beating much too fast.

When she finally pulled back she smiled up at him and whispered, "Think I might be in love with you, and if you want I would very much like to go out with you." She bit her lower lip in anticipation of what he would reply to this.

"Miss Swan, are you asking me out on a date?" Killian gasped in feigned surprise, and then he smirked and waggled his eyebrows at her.

"What if I am?"

"Then I say, I would very much like to go out on a date with you," Killian replied with a grin.

"Good because I might have let my parents know that I would not come home for dinner, so how about now." When he looked at her in surprise she added, "I know I'm not really dressed for anything fancy, but could we maybe go to town or… if that is too risqué in terms of us still having to keep this a secret we could eat here." She gestured to the open room behind him.

Emma took a look around his cabin, it was by far bigger than Ruby's and when she commented this Killian explained that it was not a favorite cabin by any of the other staff as it was located so far away from everything else.

"But I like the solitude, and a dinner date with a beautiful lady would be an honor to have here." Killian made a quick scan of his living quarters and was relieved to note that it was somewhat organized and not a complete mess.

It was basically a large open room with a bed tucked in one corner hidden behind a curtain and a couch area with a small TV. In the furthest end of the room was a small kitchen with a small dining table.

Killian walked with her into the room and did a mental check on what he had in stock in terms of food. Emma turned around taking it all in and when her eyes finally landed on Killian again she could see that he looked a bit worried.

"What's wrong Killian?"

"Ehm, I'm not sure I'm stocked up on food, think the best I can do is grilled cheese and some cereal." He laughed a little at the meager amount of food he had in his cabin.

"I love grilled cheese, so that would work… and Killian stop worrying so much, you got me, and I don't need fancy dinners to have fun, I just want to be with you." Emma pressed a kiss to his cheek and nodded to the kitchen, "want any help getting dinner ready?"

Killian relaxed his shoulders when she spoke, and took her hand and they began working on dinner. They worked well together in the kitchen and soon they had grilled cheese and a beer on the table. Killian even managed to locate a small candle he placed on the table. Grinning at this he stated, "Now dinner is served milady." He did a small bow and kissed her hand as he led her to the table.

"Thank you." Emma felt giddiness inside her as they got ready to eat. This was perfect it was just the two of them hanging out getting to know each other, and she wanted nothing else.

The talk stayed away from the topic of Mrs. Gold but turned towards the charity event this weekend. They still had 4 days, so they put together a plan for when they would rehearse, Killian wanted to do that lift so they agreed to try to practice in the water again the following day.

When it was time for Emma to get back to her parents Killian said, "I would have loved to walk you back home but it's still a bit early and we don't know who we will run into, so I better not." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. This summer had to end soon if he had any say in things. Emma knew why he felt so frustrated, "I know I want us to be able to show everyone around us that we… we love one another… and we're a couple… girlfriend/boyfriend?" She asked with a grin.

"Aye that we are… though I might think your parents or at least your mother is on to us, that woman is one cunning lady if you ask me." Killian said with a smirk.

Emma only groaned at this, of cause her mother would know something was up, "I'm not surprised, I'll see what I can do to dampen her excitement, and honestly I don't know why she is so into how my love life is."

"She is your mother," Killian reasoned and shrugged, he was not so worried about the Nolans knowing about them, it was more his boss that worried him.

Emma gave him a final kiss goodnight and said she would see him tomorrow by the lake. Killian stayed out on his porch following her retreating form as she finally disappeared between some trees. His heart was light and filled with hope for the future, he knew they would be a huge hit at the charity event, and he looked very much forward to be spending time with Emma the next days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: hope you enjoyed this... I wanted to try to shake things up a little, but again not very good at the whole drama thing, and might have gotten them together a wee bit fast in the end... but I assure you there will be other trials for the couple in future chapters... let me know what you think in a review... thanks.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we're at the charity event and the dancing they do at this... and how will they celebrate after this...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This is what I've been building the story up to... or well one of the peaks in this story... the charity dance... (and yes this is one of the HUGE changes from what happens in the movie Dirty Dancing... BUT I always imagined it just being a ground base for my CaptainSwan fic... so I hope you're not too disappointed about this, and I did try to sort of copy one specific scene from the movie at the very end... but still making it Killian and Emma's scene... ;) ) I added two more OUAT cast in two small parts... hope you like my choice.
> 
> Let me know in a review what you think... Enjoy (Longest one yet 6100+ words )

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Chapter 11

The next four days were a blur of practice sessions with Killian, and they did test out the lift in the water with bigger and bigger success. After an hour of countless tries, they finally felt confident they could do it out of the water, and at one of their last rehearsals, they did it with success. Emma had been above and beyond excited about this and when she was standing on the floor again she had kissed Killian deeply, at the moment she had completely forgotten that Ruby had been fail-spotting them. Only when Ruby had made a loud fake cough did she pull away, shrugging her shoulders helplessly towards her friend.

"Ah, good thing it was just me in here eh?" Ruby had laughed and then continued if nothing had happened.

The days had also been endless tries to avoid being spotted holding hands or kissing, some of the regulars in the dance classes all knew that Killian and Emma practiced together for the charity event so no one looked twice when Emma would walk into the studio at the end of a class. But it got very difficult to school their expressions once they laid eyes on one another, something Ruby had commented once or twice, she claimed they were even more sickeningly in love than she and Will.

Emma did get a few curious looks from her mother and father once in a while when the talk came to the dance and Killian. But they both supported her and were looking forward to seeing them dance; Emma had not let them take a peek at their practice sessions. She was way too nervous as it was already.

The day of the charity event rolled in and Emma was a flutter of nerves when she woke up. They would go to the venue this afternoon to get a feel of the stage they would dance and do the final practice there. Emma had said she would try to relax in their cabin the whole morning, but she ended up pacing back and forth on their porch.

Her parents came back for lunch after dropping off Leo to his long playdate with Henry and Roland, their nanny Maria would watch the three boys for the rest of the day while Regina would be busy with the charity event and Robin had work to do at the hotel.

When her mother had seen how restless Emma was she said: "Emma sweetie please stop this, get in here and eat some lunch and then go to Killian and you can talk about whatever and plan the last details. This way you have something to do." She knew that her daughter was not good at just being idle and doing nothing.

Emma did as her mother told her to, then found her pirate dress and the pink dress she had borrowed from Ruby. With everything ready, she said farewell to her parents, who had promised to only show up at the charity event and not bother them backstage before their dance.

When Emma was about to leave the cabin her father came over to her and handed her two tickets to the event, when she looked at him puzzled he explained, "For your new friends Ruby, and that other British guy… Will?" Emma gaped at him in amazement; she had not seen that come, "why? I mean thanks… but why?"

"They are your friends and as I've heard they have both been a moral support to both you and Killian these past few weeks, so your mother and I thought it fitting that they should be able to see the show… you think Ruby will be able to come despite her injured foot?"

Emma nodded dumbfounded, "Eh yes sure I think she is getting better at moving around, and Will is ever so helpful in getting her around." Emma grinned at this, those two was so madly in love. "Thanks, dad, it's very nice of you and mom to do this," Emma said with a big smile, she hugged her father and took her things to Killian's cabin.

Killian had been in a similar state of impatience, and Will had found it more and more difficult to distract Killian that morning. Luck would have it that Will had a rare day off work and was able to be moral support for Killian before they would go to the venue.

"You'll end up having a hole in yer' porch there mate if ya don' stop tha' pacing," Will grumbled and took a drink of his coffee, coffee he had had to make himself because Killian apparently was too distracted to think of such trivialities today. "ye are bloody bonkers, mate" Will mumbled and then spotted a figure walking up to the cabin.

"Oy look, Killian, luck will have it your Swan is coming a bit early it seems, so stop your pacing man."

Killian stopped as the words from Will registered in his head, _Emma was here!?_ He looked down the path leading up to his cabin, and sure enough, she came walking up to his cabin with her dresses over her shoulder and a bag holding everything else.

"Hi you're here early love," He said and walked down to greet her, he took no mind to Will still sitting on his porch and he honestly didn't care. When they were close enough he pulled her into a hug and sighed, "Missed you," he lifted his head and looked into her eyes.

"Missed you to, my mom and dad send me off early I might have driven them a bit nuts the past few hours," Emma grinned sheepishly at this, and then she leaned up and caught his mouth in a kiss. Her hands were filled with dress bags so she could not hold on to him. But he held on to her and pulled her closer.

"Oy loverboy stop this please, the two of you are far worse than me and Ruby," Will shouted and grumbled into his coffee. He shook his head as they finally pulled apart and Emma came up on the porch, she hung the dress bag over a chair and then looked into her other bag pulling out two tickets she gave to Will. When Will saw what it was, he looked at her with a stunned expression on his face, "wha' is this?"

Emma shrugged; she hoped her friends would take it as nothing more than a thank you gift. "This is tickets for tonight… for you and Ruby." She explained and smiled at her friend.

"Wow, thank you… I bet my Ruby will be over the moon when she hears this," he found his phone and as he looked up her phone number he added, "she has started showing signs of cabin fever I tell you that much, she will be thrilled to get out of there for the night." He pressed her number on his phone and rose and walked down the steps. Emma smiled as she watched her friend tell Ruby the news, she could almost hear Ruby's squeal from where she stood on the porch. Will just looked up at her rolling his eyes and mouthed, _"I told ye so!"_

Emma laughed and said, "Tell her I said hi… we will see you both tonight." Will nodded and waved goodbye still talking with Ruby on the phone.

Killian snug up behind Emma and hugged her, resting his chin on her shoulder, he gave her ear a small kiss and whispered, "That was nice of your parents to give them those tickets."

"It surprised me too, but I guess they wanted to thank them for being there for us and well my parents are just like that," Emma shrugged, she never flaunted that her parents had money and it wasn't a big deal for her.

"Want anything to drink before we go?" Killian asked and moved towards the cabin as he wrapped his hand around hers bringing her inside, "Will made coffee."

"A cup of coffee would be amazing, thanks, need something to calm my nerves, suppose you don't have any whiskey to spice it up with." Emma laughed nervously, she was a wreck and she tried to focus on anything else but what they would be doing later that night.

"No whiskey I'm afraid," Killian laughed, then added, "don't worry, it will be fine and we will make a grand show tonight, everyone is going to love it."

Then they drank a cup of coffee and shared small things from their life, both avoiding the topic of the actual dance at the charity event.

Finally, it was time to drive to the venue where the charity was held. The town Storybrooke was not large and the biggest venue was the city hall. When they walked into the grand room and took in the stage they would be dancing on they were both relieved to see it was fairly big.

"Ah the dancers have arrived," a petite woman dressed in a tight fitted forest green business suit whirled into the room. Emma looked at her in surprise, Regina Mills had said her event planner would welcome them and show where they could change, but she had not expected it to be someone looking like a fairy right out of a storybook. Her pixie cut blond hair bobbed around her head as she walked towards them.

"Annabelle Tink, everyone just calls me Tink, you can do that too." The woman stated and shook their hands in quick succession. Tink explained that Regina would be coming by later to make sure they had been settled in, and then led them to a back room behind the scene. "This is where you can change outfits and so on, there are water and drinks and snacks if you require that, let me know if you need anything… oh and the sound guy needs your music within the next half hour, he is going to rig everything up then…" Tink looked as if she did a mental checklist to see if she forgot anything. She swept her hands toward the somewhat small room behind them, "Feel right at home, I'll check in on you later okay?"

"Thanks," Killian managed to get out, and when the woman swiftly walked away he turned towards a smirking Emma. "Bloody hell I don't want to be inside that woman's head way too much going on, but guess Regina Mills have found the perfect event planner in her, eh?" Emma burst out laughing at this and could only agree.

Then they took stock of their dressing room, it was small and didn't have any divider so they could change clothes separately. Killian could see Emma looking at the room in worry, he walked over to her, "Hey I can turn around and not look when you get into your dress, I promise not to peak."

"Thanks, Killian, we can make do with this, and I do need you to help me zip up the pink dress… and oh that cincher thing for the pirate dress, hope you know how to do knots." She smiles up at him then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she placed her dresses over a chair.

"Why don't we bring out the music to that sound guy and do a few run down of our dances?" Killian asked and found his phone where the music was on.

When they came out into the dance hall they easily spotted the sound guy, he was a large bulky man standing a whole head taller than Killian. Killian shot a smile to Emma and walked over to the man, "hello I'm Killian, we are the dancers we were told by Tink that you wanted the music for the dances we do." Killian reached out his hand to the man who gave him a firm handshake.

"Hello, I'm Anton, everyone calls me Tiny," When he saw Killian's surprised smile he laughed, and affirmed, "well they do, it has been a standing joke since my school time you know." Tiny shrugged his large shoulders and went right to business, "yes your music, what do you need, and in what order?"

Killian spends a few minutes talking with Tiny about what they needed and when. They had their two dances, and there would be a break between them, where other things would happen on the stage.

Killian walked over to Emma and said, "Well Tiny here will make the music play so we can practice a little, let's start with the waltz." Killian held onto Emma's hand and led her to the stage. Emma tried not to picture the large room filled with guests as she glided into the waltz with Killian.

The rest of the afternoon was spent practicing and relaxing, they walked to the city park nearby trying to get the nervous jitter out of their bodies.

They had shortly spoken with Regina Mills when she had arrived and she had told them that they could tell Tink what they would like to eat and she would get it for them. The charity event was a full night thing with a fancy dinner and Tink made sure that food would be brought to Emma and Killian, and the other performers that were scheduled to be on stage.

When the food came Emma was not very hungry even though it did look delicious, Killian did manage to get her to eat a little. Then they began getting ready for their dance. Emma had pulled on the pink dress while Killian had turned to look into the wall, "Can you… you know zip me up?" Emma asked holding the dress to her body. She did not look back towards Killian but she felt his presence when he walked over to her. His hands found the small zipper and with ease he had the dress secured, he let his fingers dance over her exposed neck, watching Goosebumps rise on her skin. He could hear her gasp in surprise, he leaned over and whispered, "Sorry love, are you good on you own now?" Emma nodded mutely and pulled her hands through her hair as she walked over to the mirror and sat down to do her hair. She would make a fairly tight fitted hairdo for the waltz only leaving a few tendrils of loose hair down her neck. It was still simple as she would have to do it herself, and she wanted to have her hair more loosely for the pirate dance.

While Emma worked on her hair Killian dressed in black ballroom dance pants and a crisp white shirt and a black vest with black rhinestones that would catch the stage light. When Emma turned to him she could see that he was trying to make his hair into some form of order.

"Here let me help you with that," She rose from her chair and pointed to it.

Killian sat down and let Emma work on his hair; she slicked it back with a few hair products and combed it back in a wavy style. "We can always mess it all up when you turn pirate later," she smiled at him in the mirror as she finished with his hair. Killian nodded in agreement.

Finally ready they walked backstage to wait for their time on stage. Tink met them and told them it would still be some ten minutes give or take before their first dance. Emma moved restlessly around the area behind the stage, trying not to get in the way of people moving things around, it seemed to be a big thing Regina had put together. She found a spot behind the curtain where she could look out on the stage and see part of the guests. Scanning the room she soon found her parents sitting with Ruby and Will at a round table. They looked like they had fun. It made her happy that they got to experience this, she was just not so sure if she would survive to do this. Her stomach did several summersault when Tink came over and proclaimed that it was "five minutes and counting" before they had to go on stage.

Killian walked over to Emma, he had seen how nervous she looked, "Breath love, remember to breathe and let the music guide you. You know this, I know you do." He squeezed her shoulders reassuringly and took her hand in his. They waited for the queue to go on stage.

When the last act before them walked off stage Emma gripped Killian's hand even harder, and she took one last deep breath when Regina Mills announced them on stage. The music started flowing out of the speakers and they glided onto the stage. Emma remembered her posture and shut off from what was going on beyond the stage. Here and now it was just her and Killian doing the waltz they had done countless times before. Her eyes shone every time the dance allowed her to look into his eyes, and he smiled brightly at her, giving a small minuscule nod letting her know she did great. Before she even realized it the dance was over and they turned to the audience and bowed to the applause they gave. Emma dared to look toward the table where her parents and friends sat, her face broke into a big grin when she spotted Ruby standing up holding on to Will while she whistled and waved her free hand up to them. She waved back and felt Killian pull her out behind the curtain.

"Amazing love, you did great," Killian said in a hurry, his eyes were smiling at her, and Emma could see that he had to hold himself back and not just wrap her in a hug and kiss her senseless. His boss was lurking in the corridors and they both knew that getting caught now was not the best of ideas.

" _We_ did great Killian," Emma stated firmly and took his hand and walked past Tink on their way to their room.

"Oh you two are amazing together, Mrs. Mills did say you were very talented, but wow… I understand your next dance is a themed one, and you really need to get ready for that, you have fifteen minutes, hurry, chop-chop." Tink clapped her hands and shooing them on their way before she turned around to focus on the next act.

They walked to the room and Killian quickly unzipped Emma's pink dress before he turned around and started getting out of his clothes. He dressed in a black shirt leaving the first three or four buttons unbuttoned. Then he put on the red vest and leather pants, finally, he grabbed the leather duster.

Emma quickly dressed in her pirate dress and secured the shirt with the ribbon holding it together at the front. Finally, she picked up the cincher and turned to Killian and held it up, "care to help me with this thing?" Killian smiled and said, "As you wish." Emma could see that he tried not to say anything else, and he focused on the task at hand. Within a short time, they were both dressed and only needed to redo their hair. Since both just needed to muse up their hairdo, it was done fairly quickly. Emma used a few of the hairclips that Anna had found for her in the dress shop, so her hair was held back in the sides. Killian took a towel and rubbed his hair in this, getting rid of most of the hair product and then used his hands to make his hair look organized unruly.

"Looking good pirate," Emma leaned over and whispered in his ear, she risked a tiny kiss below his ear, he growled at this, "Don't tempt a pirate here love, or I'm not so sure we get to that stage." Killian quickly rose and turned to her bringing her lips to his in a very quick kiss. Emma grinned as he pulled away, then turned to the mirror and fixed her lipstick, and made sure she looked like the pirate wench she was supposed to.

"Ready," she finally said and they schooled their features to neutral and walked out into the filled backstage area.

Tink rushed over to them and said, "You're up next standby!" The pixie woman rushed to the next person on her list, and they walked over to get ready.

"What if I fail the lift?" Emma suddenly whispered her mind going blank at the mere thought.

"You just keep dancing as if the move was supposed to happen, no one knows it's meant to be there. Relax love," Killian reassured her as he watched the actors walked off the stage.

The theme from "Pirates of the Caribbean" started their dance, and they moved on stage in the tempo and rhythm they had planned out. Spins and twists moved them over the stage telling a grand tale of a pirate and wench fighting a battle of will and power and finally falling in love. The tension between them was evident to everyone looking on. Emma tried to remember to school her features in the right seriousness when needed and the hungry looks when the finale draws closer. Close to the very end, they had planned for the lift, and Emma was twirled several meters away from Killian and she was to run in his arm and he would lift her. She did all the first moves in that section of the dance, but when she tried to make the jump in his arms she froze. Luckily Killian had seen this come and he merely lifted her off the floor and moved her in a circle. She slid down his front and mouthed, "Hold me," and she leaned back to let her head fall back arching her back in a curve over his hands holding her hip and one hand resting between her shoulder blades. Then they picked up the dance as they had rehearsed so many times. When the music ended the turned to the ovation given by the audience, and Emma was surprised to see everyone stand up. She laughed in excitement and her eyes turned to her parents and she could see the pride in both their eyes and maybe her mother was even crying, she was not sure. Ruby shouted over the whole thing and whistled again.

Killian brimmed with happiness by their success and he held Emma's hand as they received praise from the audience. They both bowed a final time before returning behind the curtain.

"Emma that was so amazing, did you see them, they loved it." Killian grinned like a mad man and hugged her close.

"But I didn't do the lift," She stated sadly, it had put a small dampener for the whole thing.

"Never mind, NO one knew or realized something was amiss, I assure you, you did great in there Emma." Killian placed both his hands on her shoulder catching her eyes, hoping he would make her understand that she had done something amazing just now. When she finally looked into his eyes, he could see that she knew.

"I know," Emma finally said and took his hand, "come let's go get out of these clothes and we can call it a night, hmm?" Killian could not agree more.

Before they reached their room they were met with Ruby leaning on Will's shoulder when they saw Emma and Killian both smiled and Ruby reached her arm out to Emma begging for a hug. Emma laughed and walked over to her friend, "Good to see you here, Ruby."

"Your parents are the best, I've told them so a million times tonight, think your father might not like me that much anymore," Ruby joked and hugged her friend. Emma laughed at this, she was happy that the night had been amazing for them.

"Don't worry about my dad, they wanted to give you guys the experience and you both helped us with this project, so…" Emma shrugged as she pulled away from Ruby, still smiling.

"You looked sooooo good up there girl, you did magic things up there on that stage, both of you did," Ruby proclaimed and pointed between Emma and Killian.

"Thank you, Ruby," Killian said with a smile, he was still flying after their success.

"Why don't we celebrate this up in Killian's cabin, he's got more room," Will asked with a grin.

Emma looked at Killian trying to figure out what he thought. He shrugged and said, "It would be nice, not sure either of us is ready to call it a night anyway, and we might as well enjoy the night with good friends."

"Emma!" Emma turned to her parents walking in at the party. She rushed over and hugged her parents, "Hey you two, thanks for the support," She stepped back and fiddled nervously with the frilled edge of her dress.

"Sweetie you were both so amazing, had I known you could dance like this we would have helped you out more, sooner. The two of you make a great dance team." Mary Margaret beamed at her daughter and gave a nod towards Killian too.

"Mom stop, I'm not interested in pursuing a career as a dancer you know." Emma stated firmly, "but I did have fun and well we are thinking about dancing at that talent show in two weeks, so who knows might not be the last time we danced." Emma looked over to Killian; they had talked about it a few times when the talk had turned to the near future.

Mary Margaret smiled at this and then looked at her daughter; she had a glow around her she had not seen on her in a long time. And she suspected it to have something to do with the young man standing next to her. His eyes kept returning to look at Emma; it was obvious the man held some sort of deep feelings for their daughter. She took her husband's hand and said, "Why don't we let the young people have fun and enjoy the rest of the evening together?"

David looked at his wife then back at their daughter, the huge smile and twinkle in her eyes told him that she was happy and content, and obviously among friends she trusted.

"Sure let's get back home," he agreed then turned to Emma, "you did wonderful up there Honey, we are very proud of you. Enjoy your time with your friends; we will keep the door unlocked in the cabin so no worries about when you get back home okay. Have fun."

"Thanks, Dad," Emma smiled and tried to hide the knowing look when she spotted her father shot a look towards Killian. She knew they both had an inkling about something going on between her and Killian, but she was not ready to lay it all out in the open in this place, it would have to wait.

When her parents had left them Killian and Emma walked into the small room to change back into their clothes. Emma was glad they choose to go to Killian's cabin to celebrate, as she wore only a pair of yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt. When they walked out to Killian's car she realized how cold the night had turned, Killian saw this and with a grin, he draped the pirate duster around her shoulders. She shot him a huge grin as a thank-you. On the way up to the resort, she had her head resting on the car window the high collar of the duster resting under her cheek, her nose filled with the smells of Killian still lingering in the leather.

Will ran ahead to his cabin to pick up a six-pack he had there and then went by Ruby's cabin to find a bottle of wine she had. Killian and Emma helped Ruby to Killian's cabin.

When Will came with the drinks they sat down, Ruby with her foot popped up on the armrest on the couch she sat in with Will. Emma and Killian sat close together on the smaller couch. Ruby had poured them all a glass of wine to toast their success, even though Emma thought it was going a bit far to celebrate their dance like this. But Ruby held her ground and wanted to thank them both for doing this, Emma especially when she had stepped in and taken Ruby's place when she had injured her foot.

While the friends talked about the dance and everything else going on in their lives Emma smiled at the scene in front of her. She had not imagined her ever meeting such good friends on this vacation. She snuggled closer to Killian, and she had definitely _not_ imagined her finding love either. She looked up at his face and smiled as she took a sip of her wine.

Killian could sense her looking at him and he turned his head to her and smiles, by the way, she looked he could see how relaxed and content she was this very moment. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her asking, _what?_ Emma just shook her head and whispered, "Nothing really, just happy." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, mindful of them not being alone right now. She shot a sheepish grin to the couple on the other couch; Ruby smiled her wolfish big grin and waggled her eyebrows. Emma shook her head at this, and said, "this has turned out to be the best vacation _ever_ , thanks to you guys, honestly when I came here two weeks ago I never imagined I would find such good friends like you."

"And one hell of a lucky boyfriend there," Will chimed in with a laugh and shot Killian a knowing smirk. Killian nearly choked on his beer he had taken a drink of. Emma laughed and padded his shoulder giving him some moral support, then said, "That too." She wrapped her arm over his chest and snuggled under his arm resting her head on his chest. She felt Killian pull her closer to him and place a small kiss on top of her head.

The four friends relaxed and talked for an hour more before Ruby claimed she was tired and wanted to go back to her cabin. Will helped her up from the couch and they said goodbye to Killian and Emma, who remained seated as Killian followed his friends to the door. When he returned Emma had walked to the Bluetooth speaker he had and fiddled with her phone connecting it to the speaker. When the slow music flowed out into the room she turned around with a smile and said, "wanna dance pirate?"

Killian grinned as she walked over to him with a sway to her hips as if she was a pirate wench luring in her pirate. "Aye, with a pretty lass like you, I would dance all night long," Killian growled as he advanced towards her.

They glided together effortlessly into a sensual dance where they both moved with a fierce passion. Both moved closer to the other, Emma slid her hands up his chest; he wore a t-shirt with a deep v-neck giving her a glimpse of curly dark chest hair. With a knowing grin, she ran her fingers through the patch of hair before she circled his neck, pulling herself closer to him.

Killian tried to keep his hands at her hips, but seeing her so openly flirt with him, he gave in and moved his hands up her sides, one resting just below her breast while the other hand moved up and down in a restless manner, then ended on her behind pulling her close. Their hips gyrated closer at each movement and Emma felt her pulse quicken at the intimacy of their movements. She could feel how the closeness of their dance had started to affect Killian's body when her hip ground against him.

She knew she loved Killian and she knew they both were committed to their new relationship, and with everything that had happened today, she was flying on a cloud and wanted to move things further. When her mind was made up she let her hands slide down his front and tried to pull up his shirt.

Killian tried to focus on the rhythm of the music and the movements of their bodies, but when her searching hands pulled at his shirt he stopped and looked down at her. Her focused eyes and a small determined smile on her lips showed him that she was on a mission.

Emma looked up at him when he stopped dancing when he raised a curious eyebrow she whispered, "make love to me pirate." Her fingers scraped over his sides as she kept lifting the shirt off his body. Killian gasped in surprise, sure he had thought about this part of their relationship, but he had not expected her to take that step now.

Emma could see his surprise, and she only tugged a bit harder on his shirt until he relented and raised his arms so she could remove it.

"I want this Killian, no second thoughts, just you and me," Emma breathed out when she finally had access to his fine body. She ran her hand up through the curly chest hair, taking in the fine lines of his well-defined torso.

Killian groaned, "bloody hell, I…" He took a deep breath and finally nodded his head, and with a pirate's growl he claimed, "With pleasure love, get ready to be pillaged and plundered aye." His bad pirate voice made Emma laugh, and when he pounced in on her and kissed her fiercely she felt her heart soar in excitement.

"Easy there, tiger," Emma laughed and pushed him a small distance away from her, and then she placed a finger on his lips, and said, "All in good time pirate." Killian sucked in a breath of air as he looked at her determination. Her eyes held all the love she had for him and she let her eyes and fingers caress his torso. She moved in sync with the music as she let her hand slide over his chest and with alluring movements moved around his body, letting her hand trail a fiery path over his skin.

Killian pulled on all his willpower to stand still as she went on her treasure hunt over his body. Her fingers trailed over his back, making a line following his spine and circling his shoulder blades. She placed both hands on his upper back, spreading her fingers over his skin and he felt her leaned up to place a kiss just below his neck.

Emma was in a world of her own as she moved over his body; she smiled to herself when she felt him shudder as she kissed his back. Biting her lip she moved in front of him again. He looked down at her, and when his eyes landed on her he let out a shaky breath and he placed his hands on her hips, fingering the hemline of her t-shirt.

When he started to move to the music again she helped herself out of the garment covering her upper body. Killian took in a sharp breath, still not entirely believing this was happening. The heated look in her eyes was his undoing, and he moved in and splayed his hands around her waist moving up while he still moved them in the sensual dance.

Emma let herself be swept into the dance and lifted her hands to run over his face, bringing his lips closer to hers. A whimper escaped her lips when he finally claimed her mouth with his, and they both knew that the point of no return had been crossed this instant. Hungry kisses and hands roaming overheated skin making them both dizzy.

Killian kissed his way down her neck laving her skin with his heated tongue, he moved lower and ended between her still covered breasts. When Emma felt his searching mouth on her cleavage she hummed in appreciation and whispered into his hair, "Take me to bed pirate." Her words made Killian look up into her hungry eyes and he knew she wanted this just as much as he wanted it.

In tandem, they moved to the bed in the corner of the room and landed in a tangle of limbs and partly discarded clothes. The warm summer night absorbed the sounds of passion as they traveled the lands of love, in a hunt for their final treasure. When the treasure was finally found they lay spent in between twisted bedsheets and they tried to get their bearings again.

Before succumbing to sleep Emma whispered, "I love you, Killian."

"Love you too Swan."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hope you liked this... I had a hard time figuring out who I wanted to use for the role of the sound guy ... thought of Grumpy... then I wanted to ask in an OUAT group... and I put in "I need help to fit an OUAT character into a tiny role..." The second I wrote TINY I knew I should use Anton/Tiny... so I never posted the question... just a fun random fact from my work in this...
> 
> I'm considering making a more mature version of this last part of the chapter... if you want that let me know in a review ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a wee bit fluffy and some mother/daughter talk. Enjoy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Not a very long chapter, but hope you like this "the day after..." section...

* * *

Chapter 12

The earliest rays of the rising sun peeked through the dusty windows of the cabin and flittered over the couple lying on the bed under the covers. Emma had slept with her head on Killian's chest; the gentle beating of his heart had been a constant calming sound to her sleep all night long. When a small ray of sunlight touched her eyelids she grumbled in annoyance and burrowed her face into his chest, the scent of male musk and the hint of Killian's cologne from the night before tickled her nose. It had been a very long time since she had slept next to anyone, and even in her time with Neal, she had never felt this content and assured of her love for the man next to her. A small smile spread over her face as she began waking up further, her eyes still closed just enjoying the closeness with her love.

Killian had felt her moving and started to wake up too, his mind started to put the pieces from last night together and he could not contain the smile that swept over his face when he recalled their night together. He knew without a doubt what they shared was true, and a love like he had never found anywhere else. In his 25 year-long life he had only found love in very few people, and it had been ages since he had been with anyone like he had been with Emma the night before. This was real and true.

"Morning pirate," Emma had raised her head up and now rested it on one hand while the other lay splayed over his chest, her fingertips drawing an idle pattern through his chest hair.

"Morning, wench," He smirked back and winked, Emma shot him a laugh at his choice of word. She raised her body over his and shook her head making a tsking sound, trying to put on a stern look as she whispered, "Look here matey if ye do not behave I might have ye walk the plank." She knew her pirate accent sucked but the smile it instantly put on Killian's face made it worth the effort.

"It that so, _wench_ , I do seem to recall it was you who was the scallywag last night, doing pillaging and plundering with yer pirate." Killian admonished in his pirate voice. He did a quick movement and flipped her over on her back so he now loomed over her with a feral grin on his lips. Emma felt a shiver run down her body when he looked down at her with hunger in his eyes.

They might have moved at the same time as their lips clashed in a passionate kiss making them both forget time and place. This new adventure distracted them for quite some time and they ended up finding yet another treasure this sunny morning.

In the afterglow of their passion, they rested together and Emma finally asked in a sleepy voice, "What time you supposed it is?" She knew her parents did not expect her to be home, the look her mother had given her the night before had told her that much. But still, she didn't want to let them hang in the unknown, and she knew it would not be such a good idea for her to sneak out of his cabin when more people would be awake.

Killian rolled over and looked at his alarm, "around 7 o'clock love, ye need to get back down to your parents I'm guessing?" His voice was tinged with sadness, but he knew they still needed to be careful about letting the world around them know about them.

"I better do, sorry… I mean who knows how many people will be up and about at this hour." Emma put on a pout at this; she didn't want to leave this heaven of love she had been in with Killian.

"I know love; let's get you dressed, eh?" Killian rolled out of his bed and helped her find her clothes in the scattered piles around the floor.

When Emma was finally dressed he had found one of his sweatshirts and gave it to her, "Here it might be a bit chilly out in the morning."

"Thank you," She pulled it over her head and then wrapped her arms around him holding him close, burrowed her face in his chest. "Miss you already." Her voice was tiny and unsure all of a sudden.

"Hey, look at me, we can do this, we just have to be careful the next few weeks okay, whatever happens after that is entirely up to us, okay." Killian placed a finger under her chin lifting her face to his, he leaned down placing a demure kiss on her lips before letting her go, "Now you better get going, we can meet later okay. Come by the dance studio around noon and we can have lunch together and fake another dance practice or whatever." Killian suggested with a shrug.

"Okay, I will… I'll bring lunch okay." She kissed him one last time before pulling away, finding her bags with dresses and walked out of the door.

Killian ran a frustrated hand through his hair; it was not going to be easy to keep their relationship under wraps for the rest of the season. He sighed and then went on to find breakfast and did a mental check on his schedule that day; he knew he would have a couple of hours for Emma during lunchtime.

Emma found her way back to her parent's cabin without running into any other guests, when she walked up the steps she realized how late it was getting, knowing her mother she would already be up. She sighed and sat down on one of the patio chairs and pulled her legs up to her body wrapping her arms around her legs. Her mind going a mile a minute figuring out how to deal with her parents, and when the door to the cabin opened up and her mother peaked out she knew she had to at least tell them some part of what had happened.

"Ah, I thought I heard someone out here," Mary Margaret spoke with a smile, and walked out to her daughter. She looked happy, yet with a slight worry line over her forehead.

"Did you have fun last night," she asked and sat down on another chair.

"Hmm, we did," Emma mumbled against her knee trying to hide the smile that seemed to be stuck on her lips.

"You look happy,"

"I'm happy," Emma replied finally lifting her head and looked at her mother, she knew her mother interrogation strategy and she thought she might as well jump the gun so to speak, "I might be in love." She held her mother's gaze as she said this and sure enough, the crinkle in her mother's eyes showed her how happy this made her.

"So you and Killian, hmm?" Mary Margaret tried not to show her obvious excitement over this, she and David had had a suspicion for the past few days; both warming up to the idea of their daughter having found love on their vacation.

Emma nodded and partly hid her smile against her knees again. She could clearly see that her mother, and perhaps also her father, was okay with this.

"I'm happy for you both, your father is too," She said with a laugh and then added, "but I sense you're still troubled over something Sweetie?"

"You know there is this resort-policy which states that a staff member can't fraternize with the guests, and well I'm a guest and he is working here. We sort of fear he might lose his job if this is known to well you know Regina Mills and… oh man, she is married to father's old friend. Never thought of that," Emma sighed and looked at her mother with worry, "will dad tell Robin this? If so Killian will lose his job…" Emma was nearly in tears now, she had not thought about how close her family was to the actual owner, Killian's employer, of this place.

"I know, well we talked about this, your father and I… and yes we did pick up on you guys, especially last night," Mary Margaret gave her daughter small wink, "Yes Robin is an old friend of your fathers, but they are not super close and they will not be spending time together because the hotel is pretty busy these next weeks. So don't worry Sweetie."

"Thank you, it's just so new and… well, wonderful and we know this is true and real… I sort of just want these next two weeks to be over and our vacation is over. Well Killian is still working here until October I think, and then I wouldn't be a guest here." Emma thought back to several of their long talks about their life and what they wanted to happen after this summer.

"I can understand that Emma, but if you truly love one another you will get through this time and you can start building on what comes after this." Mary Margaret reasoned, she could see how distraught this whole thing was making Emma.

"In two weeks we're going home, and in four more I return to college so that is sort of not going to help very much is it. We would be a 6-hour drive away in Boston," Emma sighed at the mere thought of the distance that would be between them after the next two weeks. She was not sure she would deal very well with that.

"You're a smart and resourceful girl Emma, I'm sure the two of you will work it out. And in a year you graduate, and you can go wherever you want to go. Even here, I mean if Killian is still working here?" Her mother reasoned, she knew all about long-distance relationships, she and David had spent one year apart due to their studies.

"Thanks, mom, and thanks for keeping this a secret."

"You're welcome; come in for breakfast, your father ís making scrambled eggs and bacon." She rose from her seat then looked closer at what her daughter wore; it certainly wasn't any of her sweatshirts. She smiled mischievously and pointed to the shirt, "It was nice of Killian to lend you his shirt this morning, it's rather chilly out here."

Emma gaped at her mother then groaned and hid her face in her hands; well the cat was out of the bag anyway. But she did not need to know exactly _what_ had happened last night, _and_ this morning.

"Yeah, we sort of fell asleep last night, we… I woke up and hurried down here and well…" Emma trailed off when she saw the knowing look in her mother's eyes. She obviously knew.

"Yeah sleep, that's what you did, it had been a long night for the both of you for sure," Mary Margaret winked at her daughter then padded her shoulder and said, "no worries Sweetie, I know you're careful and honestly I'm not sure your father would want to know what you've been up to with yer pirate last night." She laughed at her joke and walked to the door, "come in for breakfast."

Emma gasped in surprise and then hid her face in mortification when her mother implied that she did know what she and Killian had done last night. She shook her head as her mother walked inside; she sighed and rose from her seat, and walked inside to meet her father.

Her father ended up acting very awkward towards her; any talk about Killian had him grumbling something about pirates for himself. Each time her mother would send Emma a reassuring look letting her know that he would get over it. When breakfast was finally eaten her parents left to pick up Leo at Regina Mills's place, both reassuring Emma that her secret would be safe.

Emma took a long bath trying to work the nervous tension out of her body. She puttered around in the cabin trying to do this or that. But her mind was still on Killian. When her parents came back with Leo they let him watch cartoons the rest of the morning, he was dead tired; the boys had stayed up way past their bedtime. Emma tried to sit with him idly watching the silliness of the cartoons. But Killian was never far from her mind and she ended up closing her eyes and fell asleep. Her mother woke her an hour before lunch.

Emma quickly made some sandwiches and told her parents she would eat lunch with Killian. Then she went to the dance studio.

When she walked into the studio, she could see that Killian was just wrapping up a dance class. Some of the participants recognized Emma and on their way out asked her how it had been the night before. Most of them knew Emma and Killian had danced at the charity event. Emma put up a polite and patient smile when she spoke with the guests, telling them all that it had been a blast.

Finally, the last guest left the studio leaving Emma and Killian alone; she put the bag of sandwiches on one of the chairs. Emma tried to hide the blush on her face as she walked over to Killian, "hey pirate, thanks for last night." She spoke gently and reached out and grabbed his hand. She looked up at him with a playful smile on her lips.

"Hey _wench_ ," Killian joked back, "it was quite an adventure, wasn't it? I did enjoy our evening together very much." He took a step closer to her and with his free hand, he pulled her in holding on to her waist. Emma went willingly into his arms and let her arms wrap around his neck, raising herself to capture his lips. They both tried to make the kiss modest and slow, but the fire from last night had not burned out it seemed so they ended up kissing each other until they were both breathless.

When they at last pulled away Emma kept herself close as she looked up at him. "I had fun last night too, might have been the best night this whole summer, I danced at a friggin charity event with hundreds of people… and I found love…" When she saw his surprise at this she nodded and affirmed, "aye I love you… ye scallywag of a pirate… I love you, Killian." Her voice was firm and sure and she could see the smile crinkle the corner of his eyes when she spoke.

"And I love you my Emma…" He gave her a lopsided smile and added with a smirk, "I love my Swan princess." He gave her a short kiss, tender and sweet making her inside warm and feeling very content and happy. Emma sighed; this was the best vacation for sure.

"How about we eat some lunch? I got sandwiches and some sodas." Emma pulled out of his embrace and walked over to her bag. She placed the things on a chair and turned two chairs towards it, making it a usable table, she swept her hands to the arrangement and proclaimed, "Lunch is served… sorry forgot to bring a candle." She chuckled as she sat down with Killian at the mockup lunch table.

Killian smiled at her joke and sat down to eat.

They enjoyed the meal and small talked about what had happened at the charity event and how much fun it had been. Emma was a little unsure if she should tell him that her parents knew of their new relationship, but when he asked her what her parents had said when she had not been home last night, she said, "I talked with my mother when I came back to the cabin, and she is actually okay with this, and my father is too, though he did act somewhat strange this morning at breakfast." She knew her father would need time to get used to the idea of his daughter being with a man, again. After Neal, he had been in a bit of protective-father mode for a long time.

Killian looked at her in surprise before he finally said, "Oh wow, I guess we suck at hiding our feelings then… well, remind me _not_ to be with you if we are ever to run into the Evil Queen then." He scratched behind his ear only hoping that they would be able to get through these last two weeks.

"I hope so too, my mother promised they would help keep the secret so let's hope. And she might also know _what_ we did last night, I did not elaborate other than telling her that we fell asleep. But they… or at least she… seems okay with that too." Emma tried to explain with uneasiness tainting her voice, it had been so long time since she had been in a relationship and she was not used to talking about this.

Killian could see the color rising on her neck and face as she spoke of their night together, he reassured her, "its okay love, I'm just relieved that they do not wish to disembowel me for disowning their precious princess." He tried to joke hoping that he would be able to talk to her parents before they would leave, making sure they knew he was in this for the long haul.

Emma laughed at this, then finished her soda and started cleaning up their impromptu lunch table. "Should we do a bit of dancing?" She asked as she found the trashcan in the room, then she turned to Killian.

"I would be honored, milady." He walked over to the sound system and found the song "The Words" and when the music flowed out of the speakers he turned to Emma and did a small bow.

Emma slid into his embrace with ease and let herself be pulled into the dance. Soon she realized that Killian began to be a bit sloppy with his posture and started to move closer than strictly necessary for dancing the waltz. Soon they were basically dancing the way they had done that night a fortnight ago in the staff-bar. Sensual movements were completely void of any resemblance to a waltz. Emma laughed at his antics and turned her head to his and admonished with mock sternness, "what is this kind of sloppy dancing, this is _no_ waltz, my good man, you are far too close, you need to keep the space between your dance partner." Emma giggled and tried to push him away, but Killian kept his body close to hers, as he let his face burrow in her neck inhaling her scent. His lips soon found the tender skin behind her ear, a sport he knew from last night that would send shivers up her spine.

When Emma felt his lips skim over her skin she had to hold on to his shoulders or her legs would have collapsed under her. "Killian…please… we can't…" Emma breathed out in a shiver and tried to pull away from his still searching mouth. Her body betrayed her as she kept moving with the music and his slow dancing.

"Why so love? No one is due to come here within the next few hours so…" Suddenly his ears picked up the sound of the door to the studio open, luckily it squeaked quite a bit. "Bloody hell…" he stepped away from her and found a proper waltz pose just as Walsh the reception guy strode into the room as if he owned the place. What little Killian knew of the sleazebag he might actually feel as if he did own the whole damn place; he had always acted superior towards anyone working outside of the hotel.

They both stopped the dance and Emma was suddenly very happy that she wore her hair down today as she could discreetly cover the beard rash she might spot after Killian's ministrations seconds before.

"Hello, what brings you down here, Walsh?" Killian walked over and put on a smiling face but he honestly did not like the man.

"Oh sorry to interrupt, eh… a private class I see, hello there, I've seen you around." Walsh sweet-talked and completely ignored Killian. Yup, Killian did not like the man, as he watched him approach Emma with a sleazy smile on his lips.

"Yes something like that," Emma retorted, and shrugged her shoulders, she really didn't want to involve the man too much into what they did.

"Nice, oh are you by any chance the Emma Nolan Mrs. Mills talked so much about this morning?" Emma looked at him in surprise; she had not known that their dance had made such an impression on Mrs. Mills.

"Eh yes, that would be me." Emma finally said, she looked over to Killian trying to see if he knew why the Walsh guy was asking so many questions. She felt worry grow in the pit of her stomach, had they been caught and Mrs. Mills had sent one of her minions to fire Killian. Emma saw her worry mirrored in Killian's eyes, but when Walsh turned to him he schooled he features in neutral.

"Well, the thing is Mrs. Mills has put _me_ in charge of the talent show in a fortnight and I'm thinking a dance act would be a nice icebreaker, and maybe even as a closing act whiles the judges do their voting." He looked at them with a smile, and his eyes sought out Emma and went on, "so since the two of you already have a few dances ready I thought I would book the two of you for those dances… what do you say?" He kept his eyes and the small self-satisfied smile turned to Emma, making her skin crawl.

Killian had seen how the other man kept his eyes on Emma and stepped up next her, "I'm sure we can figure out something, do you want us to do something else… I mean we got a classical waltz and a more modern take with a pirate theme." Killian explained quickly, just wanting to have the man out of his hair as soon as possible; he did not like the way Walsh kept looking at Emma.

"Oh those ideas seem to be very fitting, as I hear you were a great hit at the charity event last night, so let's roll with that shall we," his voice made it very clear that he did not want their opinion, he added, "I'll be looking forward to seeing the dances you have for us," Walsh stepped up to Emma and gave her a big smug smile.

"Eh thank you…" Emma trailed off not knowing how to deal with this indiscreet man, who obviously did not know when he overstepped personal boundaries. She hugged herself as she watched Walsh give a curt nod to Killian before he swept out of the studio again.

"Bloody hell that man is weird as shite…" Killian looked over to Emma and when he saw her still wrapping her arms around herself he pulled her close, "You okay there love?"

"Hmm, I am now, not sure I would want to meet him in a dark place, he gives me the creeps," Emma whispered and let her hand slide around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know what you mean, love, never really liked the man, and certainly I did not like the way he looked at you…" he grumbled and hugged her closer, "wanted so much to tell him that you're mine, and not some girl he can win for himself." Killian sighed at this.

"You'll lose your job."

"I know."

They pulled apart and chose to leave the dancing for another day, they planned to meet the next morning for another practice, not that they needed it, but it was a nice excuse for them to spend time together. Killian had a dance class in half an hour so he stayed behind in the studio; he had to find the music and plan out what he would do in that class. When he asked if she wanted to join him she shook her head, "I better not, don't want to risk anything, I'll go up and have a little girl talk with Ruby, she might be a bit bored. Need to vent girl stuff with someone." Emma said with a rueful smile.

"Ah, so you're going to tell the tale of what happened last night, eh?" He waggled his eyebrows at this and laughed at her rolling her eyes at him.

"No!... well not in so many details at least, I mean she is a dear friend and you know…" Emma shrugged her shoulders and gave him a small smile.

"I know love, and I'm happy that you found friends too," Killian could understand that she needed to talk with someone not being him or well even her mother. "Say hi to Ruby for me will ya, miss you already… love you." He walked over and gave her last kiss goodbye before she walked out of the studio.

Emma walked up to Ruby's cabin and spent the rest of the afternoon with her, hoping her parents would understand her need to spend time with her friend. Ruby was happy to have some company and they sat for a long time talking about all that had happened the night before, and sure enough Ruby did pick up on what might have happened after she and Will had walked home. She did tease Emma a little with her pirate adventure, but she was happy for her friend and vowed to help them keep it all a secret until Emma would be leaving for Boston in two weeks.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: hopefully I will get to chapter 13 soon... began writing yesterday... still trying to work out where I want to end this... not only chapter 13 but the whole fic in its self... so friggin stupid that I do not have a clear "goal" in mind as to where I want to end it... suggestions are much appreciated... thanks...


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when a certain "monkey" gets a wif of what is going on... let's see what the little stickler for rules is going to do when he finds out...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry for the slightly long wait... might be because this chapter turned out to be a bit tricky to write as it sort of not evolves 100% around what Emma and Killian are up to... and there are a bit more "drama" going on here... I hope I managed to make this work... I did try to be more rigid in terms of POV I know I'm such a slob to make it only one POV... but I feel it still works when I jump around between what the different characters think or feel in the situation... (let me know in a review if you disagree ;) ) Well this chapter is more strict in terms of POV's (might not so much in the start where we DO see Killian and Emma together.) Took this as an opportunity to challenge my own writing a little... ENJOY.

Chapter 13

The week after the charity event Emma spent most of her time with Killian and her new friends, enjoying her time with her newfound love. It was still difficult trying to hide their relationship all the time but whenever they spent time with their friends in one of their cabins they took full advantage of this.

Emma's parents had even invited the group of friends for a small barbeque dinner, she knew that the only reason they did this as an excuse to get to know Killian. The evening had turned out to be fun and less awkward than Emma had imagined it to be. Her parents had been nice and talked with Killian as if he was already a part of their family. Though Emma had seen her father shoot some strange looks their way whenever Killian would discreetly touch her back or stood a little close to her. They had been outside the cabin so they could not really show affection the way they both wanted, but it would have to make due for now.

Friday morning her mother asked Emma what her plans would be for the day, and when Emma told her she would meet Killian for a pre-lunch practice and would eat lunch with him too, she said, "Okay well I hope you will keep the evening open for a family dinner up at the restaurant." Her mother said with a smile. Emma nodded and said, "Sure thing mom, it would be nice."

Her time with Killian at the dance studio was a mix between trying to practice for the dances at the talent show and fully enjoying their time together. Since their close call with Walsh, they had tried not to show too much affection when being together. They were both getting more and more frustrated and they needed some more time together.

They were eating their lunch and talked about their situation when Emma suggested, "Could we make another dinner date at your cabin this Sunday, I… well I'm sick and tired of playing this cat and mouse game with everyone… I want to spend a whole evening with you… I miss you." She sighed and finished her last bite of sandwich.

"I know what you mean, I miss being able to kiss you properly," He waggled his eyebrows at this, and then added, "but that sounds like a lovely idea with a dinner date… I'll promise to have something else prepped for dinner than grilled cheese…"

"I love grilled cheese, but I'll take whatever you find for us," Emma said with a smile, she rose from her seat and walked over and wrapped her arms around him, kissing his temple. Killian wrapped his arms around her waist just enjoying the closeness.

"Well, as much as I enjoy this I got guests coming in shortly for my next dance class." He got up and pulled her in for a final kiss, trying to make it modest, but Emma wanted more and held on to his shirt. Her mouth opening up under his, letting the kiss become deeper. They both groaned when they finally pulled apart. Reluctantly Emma walked out of the studio after letting him know that she would not join either him or Ruby and Will for anything fun that night.

The rest of the afternoon she spent with her family and later they all got ready for their dinner. When they walked into the lobby of the hotel Emma saw with dread that it was Walsh who had the front desk job tonight. She groaned inwardly hoping he would not notice her, but luck was surely not on her side this evening. Her parents had walked ahead of her and Walsh swooped right in on her before she made the turn to walk into the restaurant.

"Hello there Emma Nolan, how are things getting along with our dance at the talent show?" He walked even closer to her as he spoke. Emma stepped back and found it odd that he used the word " _our"_.

"Ah well seeing as it is not _you,_ I dance with it will never be _our_ dance…but the dance I do with Killian is getting along fine, thank you very much." She said in a clipped, short voice, hoping he would get the hint and back off. "No worries, we will make it work… I need to… to get back to my family. Bye." Emma twirled around and fled the scene before he could talk more to her. She looked over her shoulder and saw that he tried to follow her… _what the hell?_ But Emma reached the restaurant before he could reach her and when he saw her parents waiting for her he retreated like a scared monkey.

"What was that about, who was that?" Her mother asked curiously, she could see that Emma was slightly upset about something.

"Nothing mom, nothing at all… the mon… eh, that is Walsh the reception guy he is in charge of that talent show next weekend, you know I told you that me and Killian are going to dance there. He just wanted to know how our dancing was progressing. He is just slightly obsessed with the whole thing, I guess." Emma shrugged hoping her mother would just leave it. She did and they walked into the restaurant and had a very nice family dinner together. Emma had enjoyed the extra time with her family, the past few years a lot had happened at their business giving them little to no time at all to spend time together. This vacation sure had changed that.

-Walsh POV-

Walsh had always thought of himself as being a very punctual and organized person, so his job at the reception desk fitted him just fine. He liked the order that came with planning and scheduling guests to their rooms and helping them locate what activities they could do at the resort. He had worked at "Storybrooke Hillside resort" for the past 5 years, ever since Regina Mills took over from her late husband.

This summer had been much like the past years with only a few minor hiccups along the way, nothing he couldn't handle. So what if one of the dancers hurt her foot, the rest of the dance instructors teamed up and found a way to cover for Miss Ruby Wolfe. So he did not have to lift a finger in that regard, only plot the changes into the daily activity chart he put up on the tack board at the reception each day.

The talent show was in less than a week, one of the big events at the resort during the summertime. And Mrs. Mills had put _him_ in charge of the whole thing, she had seen him as one who could organize and oversee the whole thing. He had felt rather smug about the fact that he had been picked for this job. And he did all in his power for it to run smoothly, so far he had several acts in the lineup, some might be on the odd side, but the audience will be entertained, he hoped.

The doors to the reception opened and in walked Emma Nolan with her younger brother, the boy bounced ahead of his sister and came straight to the reception desk. He looked up at Walsh with a toothy grin and proclaimed, "I'm a magician, and I want to sign up for the talent show this Saturday."

Walsh raised an eyebrow at his bluntness but gave the boy a polite smile then turned to his sister who had come over. She ruffled the boy's hair and he dodged out of the way with an annoyed groan.

"Sorry about his excitement, but yes he would like to show off a few magic tricks he can do, I hope that will be possible?" Miss Nolan said in a melodic voice. She looked at Walsh with hope in her eyes; he gave her a polite nod. Then he found the signup papers and added, "Sure thing, but please read the rules right here so you know what you're signing him up for, we encourage guests of all ages to participate, we do advise that younger guests, such as your brother should be accompanied by an adult."

When the boy heard this, "Oh my sister is going to be my assistant, ain't that right Emma?" He turned to look at his sister with a grin. Walsh looked closer at the woman and he could see her eyes smile when she looked at her brother, she laughed and turned to Walsh with a sigh, "I'm his assistant yes, I have no idea how I was ever dragged into this whole mess." She shook her head and chuckled out a sweet sound. She reached for the papers Walsh had found for them, and she looked them over. The first was the rules and guidelines for the show. Things like the fact that younger kids should have an adult with them on stage and how long the act could be. The maximum time was 3 minutes. Walsh took a step over to some waiting customers with a parting reply to them, "Just go over this together and get back to me, I'll just assist these guests and be back for your papers." He saw her wave absently towards him as her face was hidden behind the golden curtain of her hair. It was an impossible golden shimmer and almost shone in the flickering sunlight entering the foyer's large paned glass windows.

Walsh shook himself out of his reveries and turned his focus on the guests and helped them with their inquiry.

When the guests had walked away he looked over to see if Emma Nolan needed his assistance, but she seemed to be going through the papers on her own, with the help of her brother. Soon they were finished and Emma finally turned to him again. He held his breath as she walked over to him, he shook himself mentally this would not do. Ever since he had seen her the first time a few weeks ago he had felt a certain attraction towards the woman but he knew the resort rules about fraternizing with resort guests, but he still felt compelled to speak with her at every chance he had. There was no harm in getting to know the woman, she would soon not be a resort guest, he had looked her family up in the register and it seemed as if they would take their leave just a few days after the talent show. He hoped that he by then would have been able to befriend her even more so she would want to keep in touch. But being Walsh had always seemed to be a problem with the ladies and he had always struggled with the whole getting-to-know-part. This time he hoped his advances would bear fruit. He would enjoy the pursuit at least; he shrugged and stretched his shoulders trying to pull out the tension building up in his upper back.

Emma Nolan went straight to business, so no small talk Walsh realized with a sigh, he took on his professional mask and went over the papers with them. It all seemed to be in order and he let them know with a smile on his lips, a smile a tad wider than he used to put on in front of guests, "Everything seems to be in order… eh…" He scanned the name at the top again; he had forgotten the boy's name already, "Leo the Lion" He smirked at this, the kid already had his artist name figured out. Leo grinned at him and nodded his head and exclaimed, "Thank you, sir, I'm gonna practice from now on until Saturday, just like my sister here does, she is dancing you know." He shot her sister a grin when Walsh looked at Emma Nolan she paled a little but did smile nevertheless.

"Ah yes she is, I asked her and…" He paused to search for the name, but the second he did Leo provided with the name, "Killian that is who she is dancing with, mom says that they look _amazing_ together." When he had said the word _amazing,_ he had given his voice a higher pitch as if he mimicked his mother. Emma laughed at this and shook her head, "that's enough Lion." She tucked a stray strand of her golden hair behind her ear, while she obviously tried to hide the blush on her face.

"Ah well I would imagine you would look marvelous, and if Miss Nolan likes to dance so much I do hope I will get a chance…" at this her head shot up in what looked like a surprise, "…to dance with her at the after-party, that we're holding after the talent show is over." Walsh gave her a polite and hopeful smile, trying not to show too many teeth, he had once been told it was not working for him. The thin stretch of his lips felt a bit awkward but he surely hoped that Emma Nolan would consider dancing with him.

"Eh… I don't know… I mean… eh…" her voice trailed off and for the life of him he had no idea why she seemed to lack words just now, it was a matter of yes or no was it not?

"We will see then, I will put this young man on the list for the show," he pointed to the papers in his other hand and gave them a friendly nod.

Leo pulled his sister away from the reception desk and seemed to chatter endlessly about the talent show, with Emma as the silent listener. Before they reached the door they were stopped by the bellhop boy Will Scarlett, the Britt was quick to talk but Walsh had come to accept the man as part of his team. Curiously he looked on as he seemed to chat very familiar with Emma and her brother, did they know one another? Walsh wrinkled his brow in curiosity and found it fortunate that he had no other guests to attend to this moment. Only small parts of the conversation drifted towards him but the small bits he did pick up made him realize that Emma did indeed know the man in some form or another. But in what way? Something took hold inside Walsh that he didn't really have a name for, but it didn't ring well to what he had started to feel towards the angel called Emma Nolan. He vowed to keep an eye on this. It might be hypocritical of him to even think like this, he too was a staff member, but in Walsh's mind, he did not see this as such a huge problem. He knew when she would be going home.

The rest of the day he worked hard to keep his focus on his job and being polite and his usual service-minded self. Late in the afternoon, his shift ended and he took a stroll over the lawn leading down to the lake. He needed the air before heading for his home in Storybrooke, he did not wish to live on-site as some of the other workers did. Suddenly he spotted a bright shine of golden hair walking in the opposite direction as he. Emma Nolan did not even notice him even though he was fairly close to the woman. Curiosity struck him and he decided to follow Emma down the path, she turned to the path leading to the staff cabins. Interesting!? Who would she visit, Will Scarlett… or? Only when he was about to make a second guess did he realize that she had taken the long-winded path leading to the furthest located cabin. Being at the reception he knew where everyone lived. It was the damned dance instructor, Killian Jones, the other Britt. It seethed inside him as he kept following Emma from a distance.

Walsh kept himself at a safe distance and when the cabin came into view he found a thick tree and hid behind it. He peeked out behind the trunk and looked towards the cabin, what he saw made him gasp in surprise, shock and was it rage he felt, he did not take time to wonder much longer as he took action. He found his top of the line phone and quickly found the camera, a few seconds later he had at least 5 pictures showing Emma and Killian in an embrace that was far beyond mere friendship. The scene on the steps had clearly been something that had happened before; they looked so comfortable, _too_ comfortable in each other's company.

Walking back to his car he made plans in his mind to what next step that would be wise to take. He knew that Mrs. Mills would have to be notified ASAP, he did know that she was away this evening on family business, so he did not want to bother her with this tonight. He wrote a quick text to his boss inquiring if they could have a little chat the next morning. Before he reached his car Regina Mills had replied that they would talk the next morning when she got to the hotel. Satisfied with this he drove home to his lonely little house in the outskirts of Storybrooke.

The next morning Walsh waited impatiently for his boss to arrive. When she finally walked into the lobby he straightened up and smiled, "Good morning Mrs. Mills, I'm sorry to bother you this early with a bit of predicament I've stumbled upon last night but I find it at the utmost importance that you will learn about this matter as soon as possible." He spoke in a short and business-like tone as he walked around to walk with Mrs. Mills to her office. She had waved at his long speech and when he finally stopped she said in a clipped tone, one he had gotten used to hearing from her when she was stressed or busy, "Sure Walsh, let's get this over with, got a meeting in 15 minutes, so make it quick." She walked swiftly into her office and dropped her bag on the floor next to her large desk; she sat down and looked over at Walsh looking at him.

"Yes well, the fact is I've come across evidence that one Killian Jones is very much breaking company rules. More specific the rule about fraternizing with resort guests…" Walsh said in a hurried tone, he was about to find his phone to show the evidence when Mrs. Mills held up her hand to stop him, he took a sharp breath of air and slumped down on the chair in front of the desk.

"Are you telling me that Killian Jones, the Killian Jones I had dancing at _my_ charity event, has been doing the horizontal rumba with one of _my_ resort guests? Please do tell who this guest is, will you!" Regina said in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Well, I'm not sure if they have actually done that… that horizontal… eh… thing…" He cleared his voice as this subject was making him rather uncomfortable, the mere thought of Emma doing _that_ with the infamous dance instructor made his insides turn into something that one might call jealousy. He sighed and found his phone, "but I do have photo evidence that they have become rather close, too close in them now breaking the rules." He found the evidence while he spoke and stood up to show the picture to his boss.

-Regina Mills POV-

Regina Mills was an effective business owner who did not take lightly to have her schedule changed for minuscule mishaps, but when Walsh had started prattling about one of her staff breaking the no fraternizing rule she tried to keep her interest peaked, and when the name Killian Jones had come up she was positively livid and even more so when Walsh apparently did not hear her ask about what guest he was talking about. She took the phone from him and she looked at the picture, he obviously had a fairly good camera phone as the picture clearly showed Killian Jones in a passionate embrace with a blonde woman. She vaguely heard Walsh say that she could swipe for more pictures, as she did so the only question in her mind was: " _WHO?"_ The last picture showed the face of the woman in question, she gasped as she recognized the young woman. She had eaten dinner at her home for Christ's sake. "Emma Nolan?" she whispered in disbelief, as she kept swiping back and forth between the pictures as if it would change the fact that her husband's old friend's daughter had indulged in a relationship with one of her staff workers. One Killian Jones who she had always looked at as someone following the rules to the T, and held the utmost respect towards any guest passing his way. The reviews of his dance classes had always been given top marks from guests. At his job interview, he had claimed that "good form" was his way of living, and now she had proof that he had gone against both his own standard and the resort rules. The rule was there as a way of making sure that staff would keep the focus on their job while working at the resort. She did not need employees who had their focus on dalliances with the resort guests.

"Shall I call for him to meet you up here in your office so you can… eh, do whatever it is you want to do in this matter?" Walsh had dared to ask, but he shut his mouth the second Regina shot him an angry glare. She liked the man for the work effort and high standards he kept at his reception area, but sometimes he could be such a stickler for rules that he could piss off anyone around him. There had been other incidents much like this one in the past years that she knew he was a suck-up when it came to her and making sure everyone around him lived by the resort rules. This incident had a much more personal twist to it, something she would have to speak with her husband about and as it happened she had a meeting with him in less than 5 minutes. She looked at the reception manager and spoke in a clipped tone, "No! You do nothing, I thank you for this, would you mind sending me those picture to my phone, I will deal with this myself, you might know that the Nolans are friends of my husband so this is a personal matter…" She could see the air seep out of him and she knew he felt defeated, she added, "but know this Walsh I will take care of this, don't you worry your head about this anymore… go out there and greet our guests and give them the best service I know you can give them." That last part had been to give him a small boost of confidence as she had seen behind his façade at times and knew he lived on sucking up and being reassured that what he did was the right thing to do. The right thing to do, what would that be in this situation she wondered when she with half an ear listened to Walsh leaving her office. She waved him off with her hand and slumped back in her chair as she thought about what they should do about this situation.

Walsh had barely left her office before her husband Robin walked in and when he saw her worried face he quickly walked over to her and sat on the desk next to her chair. He reached for her hand and asked, "Regina what happened? I saw Walsh walking out of here, what mishap has he now gotten himself into?" He chuckled to himself.

"Oh Walsh did nothing that Walsh doesn't do every day, live by the rules," Regina said with a sigh and a small smirk, "this is a bit more closer to home I'm afraid."

"Now you're scaring me, love, what happened exactly?" Robin squeezed her hand in reassurance. They worked well together managing the hotel and the resort in collaboration in even the smallest of details concerning the place.

"Well you know it involves someone close to you or well your friend's daughter and one of our dance instructors." She sighed and rubbed her free hand over her face.

Robin tried to put her words together to make sense of it all. "Uh, you need to clarify this love, not sure I follow you on this one."

"Your old buddy David Nolan is here with his family, their lovely daughter, Emma, she danced at the charity event last weekend with our dance instructor Killian Jones." Regina knew Robin would know who she spoke of as he had been to the event himself; sure enough, he nodded his head.

"Oh… oh… now I see," Robin exclaimed and then looked at his wife in concern, "you mean they… they have gotten a little closer than rules actually allow… eh?"

Regina nodded and reached for her phone, Walsh had sent the pictures and she found them and showed Robin the phone. She had found the last picture where they could clearly see Emma's face, then she swiped to show him the rest, and as each picture showed the couple in a more and more passionate embrace kissing deeply, he suddenly knew why Regina was so conflicted.

"Well this is certainly not the ordinary case of breaking resort employee rules, hmm" Robin scratched his hair as he thought this over. He knew that he would be a bit caught between his obligations as the employer of Killian Jones and being friends with the girl's father.

"Do you suppose David and Mary Margaret know about this relationship if they do I do not begrudge them for keeping it from me, but still it might be a good idea to hear what they think is going on between the young couple?" Robin said and looked down at his wife; she was torn in this matter he could clearly see that on her face.

"Hmm?" She looked up in confusion and smiled feebly at her husband.

"Should we go down to David and Mary Margaret and ask them, before we make some decision on this matter, I know that if this relationship truly has evolved to a point of it being a matter of breaking our rules we will have to let him go. I hope my friend will understand." Robin sighed at this thought, the least they could do was to go talk with them.

Finally, Regina nodded in agreement, and she rose from her chair. "Could you call David and let him know we're coming to them now. Think they might still be at their cabin, it's still early." Her voice was turned back into her business tone and she started to plan in her mind what they had to talk to their friends about.

Robin had gotten a hold of David and he said they would still be at their cabin, he sounded rather curious about the unplanned visit. Regina knew that they had told them that the week would be busy for them and time would be scarce. They had not elaborated over the phone, not even mentioned it concerned Emma and Killian.

When they arrived at the cabin they found their friend sitting on the porch, no sight of Emma or Leo.

"Hi, welcome friend, a nice surprise…" David's voice trailed off when he saw the grave looks on both Regina and Robin, "what is going on here?"

"Sorry to barge into your quiet morning, but we need to consult with you on a matter that… well, it actually concerns your daughter Emma." Robin said with a sigh and looked at his old school friend.

At his words, Mary Margaret gasped in shock, "What happened, what is going on, is she okay… what has she done… what?" Words rushed out of her as she looked at her friends. She could see that the situation was serious.

"Oh Mary Margaret nothing happened, and your daughter is fine… speaking of your daughter where is she?" Regina asked and looked around.

"She is with Leo up at one of Will's dance classes, the boy is hooked on learning the art of street dance," David explained and motioned for their guests to take a seat.

Regina smiled at this; it seemed as if her choice in giving the young man some classes had paid off. Shaking her head she went down to business, "Well it has come to my attention that Killian Jones is breaking one very crucial employee rule at this place," She paused trying to see if they knew something, Mary Margaret shot a quick glance towards her husband with a worried look on her face. So they did know something, Regina thought to herself. She continued, "And this rule involves your daughter too, so we want to make sure that the facts are true and valid."

"Eh, what rule is it we're talking about here?" Mary Margaret asked timidly, she gasped, "Oh my god she is not smoking something illegal is she?" At this David scoffed in response, "Mary Margaret you honestly don't believe _our_ daughter would do such a thing, she never veered towards anything like that in her high school or now college years, come on she is better than that."

"I know, but that is what came to my mind, sorry, but what else would there be of… rules… oh… oh… oh my," She stuttered in the end, making Regina smirk as she could clearly see what she had put together in her mind, _she did know something!_

"Yes I'm pretty certain that your daughter and Killian Jones are in some sort of relationship that goes beyond doing dance practice together," Regina said with some hints of regret in her voice, she honestly didn't like this either.

"You mean they…?" David asked and waved his hand aimlessly in the air, trying to come up with the correct words to describe what their daughter was doing.

Regina nodded, and added, "I'm not against their dalliance but it puts me in a dilemma here as our staff policy clearly states that fraternizing with resort guests is not accepted and in the end will cause the employee to get kicked out."

Mary Margaret gasped at this, and then frowned, "how do you know of all of this?" she tried to look calm. They obviously both knew that their daughter had fallen head over heels in love with the charming dance instructor.

"Another employee saw them kissing in front of Killian's cabin and there are photos so there is no point in denying it…" She trailed off when she saw the guilt written over her friend's face, _they know._ "You both knew all of this didn't you?" Regina sighed and sat back in her chair.

David nodded and shrugged, "She is our daughter, we want her to be happy, you must understand that, please," He looked to his friend Robin. Regina could see her husband was torn in this matter, but she let him answer David, "yes we see why you kept this from us, we have no hard feelings in that regard, we just wanted to clarify the facts with you before we must go further with this." He too heaved a sigh at this.

"So you're firing Killian then, just like that?" Mary Margaret asked in a sad voice, "I mean I know why you want to do this, resort rules and all that, but it will not make it any easier for the man, I have no idea what he will do if he did not have this job." Regina looked at her friend deep in thought; she could see that they had gotten to know Killian too, for them to speak so highly of him. And yes he was a gifted dancer that brought some edge to the dance department and she could not deny the popularity his classes had. But the rules were there for a reason.

"I'm afraid it must be like this, I will give him a good resume from the resort and with his talent, I'm sure he will find another instructor job somewhere," Regina said in a slightly grim voice, she was not too fond of how this was going. But being a boss at this place required her to make tough choices all the time, and this time it could be no different.

They would have to fire Killian Jones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: next up is sort of how Killian reacts to this and what is happening after... how will this end... I got a more clear idea now I think ;) thanks to Timberwolf3706 who I spare a little with when I hit small writer blocks along the way... THANKS :) <3
> 
> Thank you to my beta EtteRose16 for looking this over for me... finding the most glaring mistakes :) <3


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This took some time to write... sorry about the wait... kinda tough doing things that are a little angsty and when things go downhill... But I think it turned out okay in the end... let me know in a review... enjoy

* * *

Chapter 14

Regina walked to the dance studio as she thought it would be the first place to look. Robin had a few things he needed to do at the hotel. It was very rare that Regina ever went to this part of their resort, the dance instructors were pretty much running the place, and she knew the place was kept in perfect order. While she walked up there, she made a few calls making sure that the rest of the dance department would be notified of them missing a dance instructor for the rest of the season.

As she walked in she could see Will Scarlett wrapping up his street dance class and a large group of kids was bouncing around and having a blast. Regina didn't really care for the music but seeing her guests having fun made her smile. Then her eyes landed on Killian Jones sitting next to Emma Nolan and her smile faded. This was one of those parts of the job that she never really liked doing, and this case was even tougher as it in a way involved a friend of theirs. She imagined Emma would be heartbroken.

Killian had come to the studio when he learned that Emma would be there with her brother. He was sitting next to her making small comments and jokes about the dance going on, some of the kids clearly had no real rhythm in them but they all had fun and that was all that mattered. They both tried to act as if they were just friends and well acquainted since they had danced together, but often their hands or fingers had brushed against each other making them both jump and shoot worried looks around the room trying to see if anyone had noticed. They hated hiding this from the world around them.

When the class was wrapping up they both spotted a grim-looking Regina Mills walk into the room. This could never mean anything good. They cast a quick worried glance at each other and Killian shrugged as if to say that he had no idea what was going on. Emma sat biting her lip while all the kids moved out of the room. Her brother came bouncing over to her with a huge grin on his face. He looked like he had had fun. Will walked over to them and said, "Hi there, so what's going on?" He had not seen Regina walk into the dance studio.

"That is going on," Killian said grimly and pointed towards Regina Mills walked over to them with purpose-filled strides. The look on her face told them all that this was not a social call.

"Shite…" Will exclaimed in a whisper, when he saw his boss, doing a mental check himself to see if it was he that she was going for. But he came up short, as far as he knew he was good, then he looked at his friends and it dawned on him what might be going on. Just before she had come over to them he whispered, "I'll take your brother outside, eh?"

Emma nodded her thanks to Will, she too had come to the realization what Regina's mission was this morning. Without really thinking about it she grabbed Killian's hand and rose with him to meet Regina.

Regina shot a look at their clasped hands and said without further pleasantries, "Killian Jones may I speak with you in private for a moment!?" She nodded her head towards one of the smaller back rooms in the studio.

Emma was about to let go of his hand but he squeezed her hand letting her knew he wanted her there with him, she looked at him with worry written all over her face while she bit down on her lip. She had a pretty good idea about what Regina wanted to talk to Killian about.

"She stays!" Killian said shortly, he had an unreadable look to his face completely void of all emotions, it worried Emma even more.

"Very well it does in a way involve her too, so fine with me." Regina's voice was clipped and cut short. Emma noticed her gaze flickering between the two of them, she was not enjoying this very much. Emma had known the woman very shortly and had pretty much only spent time with her that one time she and her family had had dinner with the Mills-Hood family a few weeks ago.

"Okay, I'm guessing that you know what this is about then Killian?" Regina asked with a sigh and looked at her dance instructor, one of her best instructors if you asked the many guest reviews, but the rules applied for all.

"Aye I do Mrs. Mills," Killian said with a sigh rubbing his neck, Emma looked at him he was uncomfortable, she pressed his hand a little letting him know she was there with him. He looked at her shortly and when he saw her reassuring smile he looked back at his boss, "you're going to fire me ain't ye?"

"Well you know I have to, it is not with my greatest pleasure to do this, but you have broken the rules and I can't let this slip through and hope no one else goes around and… well… you know…" She shot a look at Emma with a small smile, "well… go fall in love with a guest."

"Why is that such a bad thing, if you don't mind me asking?" Emma suddenly asked, honestly she did not see the whole problem here. "Killian was still doing his job, and taking care of his obligations as a dance instructor, even though he… well... You know." She looked down not wanting to say what exactly they had been doing.

"Fell in love with you Miss Nolan?" Regina asked and raised an eyebrow while trying to hide the small smirk on her face. Emma only shrugged and smiled sheepishly at the older woman, this was by far worse to talk about with someone else who wasn't her parents. This was not the way she had wanted the whole world to know about her and Killian.

"Well if you must know, we made those rules a long time ago when we had had several incidents with staff doing a bit more than necessary to keep the guests happy and… eh satisfied on their vacation, and therefore started to slag off on their job requirements, making things like common service towards the guests go downhill." Regina explained grimly and continued, "So we found it vital that we would prevent things like this to happen again, this is a family place not a place to flirt and show a lot of unwanted PDA when being out among guests. I do hope you see why we have found this important to maintain such rules?"

"But me and Killian have never, like never ever, been out in public and among other guests when we… eh were together, so honestly, I don't see why you need to fire him… give him a bloody warning, wouldn't that be sufficient or what?" Emma was starting to get more and more aggravated as those rules honestly did not make any sense in her mind.

Killian turned to his girlfriend in surprise, he had never seen her so angry before, in some small part of his heart he felt proud, but he also knew that this was going to happen if they were caught, he had prepared himself for this scenario to happen. He wrapped his free hand around their clasped hands and rubbed her hand with his thumb. "Emma, love, I signed a work contract, and that states these rules, I signed the paper and agreed to work under those rules. Sure I'm pissed that it has to be this way, but I can't run from what I've signed, that would never be good form." He tried to reason with her, but her glare towards Regina Mills told him that she had not paid much attention to his words; she only mumbled something about "you and your stupid good form." She bit her lips as if she tried to not say anything else, but in the end, she let out, "I still think it's stupid, sorry Mrs. Mills but I do, you're willingly giving up one of your greatest dancers at this place for reasons only meant to be between ME and Killian… that is so… so fuc…well stupid," she stammered in anger.

"I'm not happy about this either Emma, believe me, I'm not," but before Regina could speak further Emma interrupted, "how the bloody hell has you found out about us, I thought we… well… I thought we were hiding it so well." She worried her lip even more and wrinkled her eyebrow in confusion.

Killian tried to hide his surprised smile at her choice of curse words, it appeared he had rubbed off on her, but he refrained from pointing this out to her just now, not in front of Regina anyway.

"Well one of our employees spotted you up at Killian's cabin last night, and let's just say the pictures did show you in a rather passionate kiss," Regina explained with a small shrug.

"There are bloody pictures!" Killian exclaimed, now it was his turn to be livid, "who the bloody hell has been lurking outside my cabin, that is not good form." His voice shook in rage and he let go of Emma's hand to run both his hands through his hair in frustration, he felt violated beyond words, one thing would be for everyone to find out, but the person had taken pictures of them.

"Killian," Regina said in a somewhat soothing voice, "you know I can't tell you that." She stated what he already knew.

"Aye, I know… but that doesn't make me like it any less." Killian sighed and started pacing the floor, his mind was starting to catch up to the fact that he was now fired; he was out of a job, again. Bloody hell.

"So when do you want me to leave this place then, how long do I get to pack up my things?" He stopped his aimless walking and looked at his boss, well she wasn't that anymore.

"You have until tomorrow afternoon, I'm sorry that is all I can give you. I've already made sure that the rest of the dance team will be notified this afternoon and I'm sure they will team up and make sure the rest of the season will work." Regina said in her usual business-like voice and made some final comments about how Killian would have to come to her office and sign the papers she would have ready for him tomorrow morning and he would get his last paycheck. Then she added, "I'll make sure to write up a good résumé for you Killian, you are a great dance instructor and I got so much good feedback from our guests that I'm pretty sure that you will be able to get a job wherever you choose to locate next. I'm truly sorry, we will see you again tomorrow morning at my office, okay?" Regina nodded and turned to walk out.

"Sure…" Killian trailed off not caring if he was being impolite or not. When the doors slammed behind his former boss he slumped down on one of the chairs and buried his face in his hands.

Emma was nearly in tears as she watched her boyfriend bend over in the chair, both from the knowledge that he would not be dancing with her anymore in this place, and rage over the fact that some stupid dimwit had found it fun to go snooping in people's business. Attentively she walked over to Killian and sat down next to him. She bit her lip as her mind went a million miles a minute trying to figure out who would have done this to them. Who would be stupid enough...? Suddenly a thought struck her when she tried to recall who she had talked to the past few days, and one person came up. "Bloody fuck I know who did this Killian, I know who took those damn pictures… It's Walsh that little shite-arse crazy flying monkey."

Had the situation not been so grave Killian might have laughed at her expressive choice of words to describe the hotel receptionist! When she turned to look at him with rage in her eyes, he chuckled and said with a small smile, "Didn't know they hired monkeys up at the hotel love."

"Well you have to admit he does look like a monkey and the flying part is just yours and Will's fault with the two of you calling everyone fairytale names… Walsh is one of the flying monkeys Oz." She said in a huff, and added, "I'm pretty sure he is the culprit, I mean he has been a bit pushy the last few times I have run into him… Last time was when I helped Leo sign up for that talent show… He was like oh so creepy and asking me to dance with him at the party afterward…can you believe him… my brother was right there next to me… ugh… lucky for me Leo was so caught up in the talent show he did not pay attention…" She took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

Killian had only gaped at her as she told him how she had run into the man, he was not fond of Walsh either but this just showed him that the sleazeball was not to be trusted. "I believe you love, it surely could be him, but honestly just leave it, it's not worth fighting with him over, no matter what I'm out of a job." He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, he looked over at Emma sadly and added, "and I guess we won't be dancing this Saturday, I'm sorry, I know you've been looking forward to that."

"It's fine," Emma sighed and took his hand, "I'm just worried that I won't be seeing you any more… I mean where are you going to go?" She asked in a small voice.

"Honestly I don't know… but come to think of it I really don't want to drive too far away from you, at least not while you're still here… so I guess I'll book a room at Granny's, she's got a few rooms in the back that she rents out. That way we would still be able to see each other… oh God, I hate this…" He reached for her and wrapped his arm around her, turning in his seat so he could bury his face in her neck, holding her close. "Sorry, it had to be like this." He whispered.

"Me too," She slid her fingers gently through his hair and let her fingers play with the strands at his neck, "I'm going to miss you once this vacation is over, I mean I'm glad that you're close right here and now and for the rest of my vacation… but what happens after I go home?"

"That part I do not know… why don't we take the rest of the week and enjoy this time together, I know you're here on vacation with your parents and you want time with them too, but let's spend time together as much at we can eh?" Killian asked and looked up and found her eyes, begging her to understand that he did not want to think too much about the future just now.

"Okay," she touched his face and let her hand slide over the scruff on his cheek, then leaned over and kissed him, it was a deep and emotional kiss that helped them both forget what trials might lay ahead of them.

Once they parted they both had small sad smiles on their face, they would make this work. "Do you need any help packing up your stuff?" Emma asked sadly, Killian shook his head, "No I don't have much, it can all pretty much fit in the flatbed of my truck, so…" he shrugged, then he winked, "but I wouldn't mind the company while I do so…"

"Are you so sure that would be a good idea, I might just end up distracting you when you work?" Emma asked with a laugh, "But sure let's go, I just need to get Leo back to my parents." Just then her phone buzzed and when she looked she had received a text from Will, _"hi, got your brother safely back to your parents, when I saw the grim look on the Evil Queen's face when she left I gathered the two of you needed some time alone. I'm at Ruby's until later. Have fun ;) PS not said a peep to your folks, they just know you're with Killian."_

Killian had looked over her shoulder when she had said the text was from Will, "so we're off then to my place, come on!" he rose and took her hand.

They walked to Killian's cabin and spend the rest of the day together trying to have fun while Emma did indeed help him pack his few belongings. He had told her that he had lived out of travel bags and cardboard boxes most of his life so when the job offer came he uprooted everything, and now he was free to go where ever he wanted. This gave Emma something to think about.

They had sent off a few text messages with Ruby and Will, letting them know of the changes and how this would affect the whole dance department. Later in the afternoon, Ruby had indeed been told by their dance manager that she would be expected to take over Killian's classes together with a few of the other dancers. Her foot was mending alright, but not 100% fit for dancing, but she did move around more and more on her own.

When she finally got ready to leave him before dinner she said, "Come have lunch with me and my parents tomorrow after you've signed those papers in Regina's office, I know they would like to get to know you more." She had her arms wrapped around his neck not caring if anyone saw them through the open door.

"Ah meeting the parent's scenario, are we ready to go down that road love," Killian joked and laughed, then added more seriously, "I'm sure they would love to get to know me, I did feel rather scrutinized at that barbeque thing they invited us to last week."

"I know and it was the only reason they invited you guys I think, but then you also know that my parents are pretty okay with me dating you, now it's just a bit more official and out in the open. I think I like this way more than before where we had to hide this." Emma explained then added with a frown, "But I'm gutted that we can't dance at the talent show next week." She rested her head on his shoulder sighing deeply. It was not fun anymore; they would not be going to have that last great moment together as dancers.

"I know I would have loved to show all the guests here what we've been working on, some of the other guests from my dance class have been talking non-stop about the talent show." Killian shrugged and rubbed her back trying to comfort her.

"Oh, I almost forgot I thought of something else," Emma looked at him then pointed towards all his belonging now stacked against the wall near the door, "well I just thought of something, and I'm not assuming you would agree to this but given the fact that you… well, you have nowhere to go… after this… I just thought it could be… well only if you want to that is," At this Killian placed a finger over her lips ending her rambling, he laughed and stated, "Just tell me, Emma."

"Oh alright, I just don't want to live miles and miles apart from you, and since you don't know where you want to go after I go home, I thought you might consider moving to Boston with us… eh me…" Emma shrugged helplessly she had been rambling again.

"Are you asking me to live with you?" Killian asked in surprise as both eyebrows shot to his hairline. Emma spluttered, "I… no not move in move in with me, like in my loft, but move to Boston. I'm not sure we're at the actual moving together part of our relationship… I mean unless you really want to then…" Killian laughed as he shut her up with a kiss.

"I would love to move to Boston and live near you too, love. We don't have to jump to anything we're not ready for yet. It will come eventually, and I think it would be wise for me to find a place of my own first." Killian said with a smile and gave her a reassuring kiss.

Emma smiled up at him and hugged him close, "thank you, Killian, sorry about my rambling, I've just never felt like this with anyone, ever…" she didn't mention Neal's name but she knew he would understand what she meant.

"It's okay, love, I'll see you tomorrow at lunch, I'll bring my most charming smiles to win over your parents." He said as he kissed her a final goodbye.

"You won't need that, they already like you." Emma smiled as she walked back to her cabin to have dinner with her parents. She looked forward to properly introduce Killian to her parents, but part of her heart was filled with sadness over the fact that they would never get a chance to dance at the talent show.

When Emma came to the cabin her mother looked at her with sympathy in her eyes, and when Emma asked what had happened, Mary Margaret said, "Regina was down here this morning…" At this Emma gasped in shock, "WHAT! You spoke with Regina about me and Killian, how could you mom, really I thought you… you…" Emma was furious and started to storm up the steps to walk into her room.

"Sweet Emma, she came and asked about your relationship, at first we didn't give her much, but she had pictures Emma, what did you expect us to do, downright lie in the face of your father's friend… Emma!" Mary Margaret walked up to her daughter who had stopped on the porch. She hugged her daughter's shoulders and whispered, "I'm sorry Emma, really we are… there would have been nothing we could have said to prevent Regina firing Killian you know that, right." She squeezed Emma's shoulders hoping her daughter would understand, but the tension in her shoulders showed her that she was still mad at them.

"I know mom," Emma said a little sad, yet she was still pissed at her parents for talking about them with Regina, "I'm still pissed you know, that is just not right mom, I… I'm going to my room…" She shrugged off her mother's arms off her shoulders and strode into the cabin. Before going in she turned to her mother and shot back, "By the way, my boyfriend is coming over for lunch tomorrow!" with that she locked herself up in her room for the rest of the night. Not really in the mood to be with her parents with the knowledge of them blabbering about her and Killian to Regina. She knew it wouldn't have mattered if they had tried to cover for them, there were pictures; she sighed and only hoped that the rest of the vacation would still be fun. She would never be able to dance with Killian, he was fired and the deal they had made with Walsh to be part of the break acts at the show was down the drain now. She shuddered thinking about Walsh, she did not even want to go to the damn thing anymore. Well, she might have to since she was her brother's "assistant". She groaned and slumped down on her bed, well it seemed the last of her vacation would suck.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: In my original plan I had like 12-13 chapters sorted out... now this is chapter 14 and I got working on chapter 15... this I thought would be the last... but now I'm not so sure... so there might be 2 more chapters and a possible Epilogue in the end. Let's see where the muse takes me. :) (I would love to know how this chapter worked out, so let me know in a review)


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having a friend with a plan might be what Emma and Killian need here...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Wuhu... a chapter already done... but guess you're not disappointed in that... a bit easier to write the sort of fluffy filler thing here before the grand finale... I hope to be able to bring you the last chapter before the end of next week... and will work on an epilogue too...

* * *

Chapter 15

The next day Killian had gone up to Regina's office to sign the papers and received his last paycheck. He had woken up with a heavy heart, he had enjoyed working at the resort, the atmosphere and down to earth feeling it all had when he would teach his dance classes. Now he was trying to look forward to what the future might bring, he had mulled over the idea of moving to Boston all evening after he had said goodbye to Emma. He liked the idea more and more and he had even started making plans to go online to search for a place to live. He knew what area of town she lived in, it was close to the college and he hoped he would be able to find something reasonably priced in the same neighborhood.

As he walked out of the hotel he made a short stop at the hotel gift shop and picked up two flower bouquets, one for Emma and one for her mother. He knew that it might be a tad too much but he wanted to give a good impression.

It was with an odd sense of relief he walked down to Emma's cabin, he was still annoyed at being sacked but he knew the future would bring him closer to Emma. So in all, it was with a smile on his face as he walked up to the cabin.

Emma had been waiting for him, she sat outside on the porch with her brother, when he spotted Killian he scampered inside shouting "Killian is here mom!" Killian smiled at Emma and walked up to her, giving her one of the flower bouquets, and a light kiss on the cheek, "Hey there love, how are you feeling today?"

"Still pissed, both at Regina but also my parents, can you believe them, they had talked with Regina before she had come up to the studio to… you know… I can't believe they did that." Emma huffed out in annoyance. She did give him a smile when he had kissed her.

"What?" Killian was surprised but then thought, "Well Regina and Robin know your parents so it might make sense for them to consult them before talking to me… to us." Killian shrugged and wrapped his arm around her letting her know he was there for her.

"Thanks, and I know, I'm just frustrated that it had to be like this, it's not fun that we can't dance this Saturday at the talent show. Fuck Walsh…" Emma stopped her talk when she heard the screen door open. Killian turned to greet Emma's mother who had come out, "Mrs. Nolan, thank you for letting me come here." He gave her the other flower bouquet

"Welcome Killian, and please do call me Mary Margaret." She took the flowers and reached for the one Emma held, "here Sweetie, let me take those too, we're almost ready to eat." She gave them a small smile and walked inside.

Killian pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her hair, "It will be alright love, I'm gutted as well I would have loved to dance with you at the talent show, it would have been one final big thing for us before you're going home."

"Thank you, Killian," Emma whispered as she rested her head on his shoulder, trying to calm her stormy emotions. She smiled to herself, this man was stunning in every way and he could always calm her.

She lifted her head and placed her hand on his scruffy cheek, leaning up to kiss him. Their lips had barely touched when the door banged open and Leo yelled "lunch is…" he stopped when he saw his sister kissing Killian, "Eew," then he laughed and sang, "Emma and Killian sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G…" as he turned to walk inside again.

"Oh god sometimes I hate that little shite," Emma groaned and took Killian's hand, he was chuckling along the way as they walked in. He remembered his older brother had been the same when he was very young and he had been caught kissing the girl next door, he had only been 10. He would tell that story to Emma one day, she would see the humor in that; there would be so many things he would tell her about his life, his brother.

They walked into the cabin and Emma could see by the odd expression on her father's face that he had heard Leo's singing. She shot him a sweet smile and Killian walked over to David and reached out a hand, "Hello Mr. Nolan, I'm happy you wanted me to join you for lunch." His voice was shaking just a little bit but he knew from Emma that her parents were okay with them being together, it was just a whole new situation from last time he had been with her family. Back then they had still hidden their relationship from everyone, except Ruby and Will. They now knew that even then her parents had known in some way that they had started a relationship.

Mary Margaret was just getting the last things ready for the table as she watched her husband greet Killian. She smiled as her husband replied with a small smile and handshake while he said, "Well it was our daughter who invited you, but you're welcome any time, and I guess we will be seeing more of you in the future." At this Killian had smiled sheepishly at David and shot a quick look at Emma, who just rolled her eyes at her father. Then she sat down and pulled out a chair for Killian.

Mary Margaret watched the interaction with fondness in her eyes, they had both seen how happy Emma had become the past few weeks, and now they knew for sure that it was all because of Killian Jones. It had been clear as day even on that day when they had invited him and his friends to the barbeque dinner the other day.

The lunch went on without a hitch and everyone ended up enjoying themselves and Killian did tell them a bit more about himself. He even shared with them that he planned on moving to Boston in a short time, as soon as he would be able to find a place to live. Both David and Margaret smiled at this and promised they would keep an eye out for places free for rent.

That afternoon Emma went with Killian to Storybrooke and he got settled in a room at the Inn behind Granny's. They ate dinner together at the dinner, both trying to deal with the fact that the next week would be very different from the previous weeks. It was a very odd feeling to say goodbye to him at the parking lot that night.

* * *

The next few days were a strange mix of spending time with her family and making plans with Killian to be with him. She also managed to have time with Ruby, having long girl-talks out on their porch drinking tea. Both she and Will had been horrified when they learned that Killian had been fired. They had also managed to take one afternoon where the four friends had gone out to dinner in Storybrooke. Ruby's foot was getting better and she was able to walk around without the crutch by now, as long as she did not overdo things yet.

It was Wednesday afternoon and Emma sat on her porch when Ruby came down the path. She got up from her seat and met her halfway, lending her an arm for support. "Thanks, girl, this stupid foot is killing me still, oh sure it's better and all… but hell I want to dance again… you know…" She trailed off; she remembered that by some unwritten rule there had not been any talk about dancing and talent show when they had been together. "Sorry," Ruby whispered.

"Its fine Ruby, really, I'm getting there… still hate that we can't dance but hey he is not moving to the North Pole or anything. He is still here, and I see him pretty much every day." Emma reassured her friend as they walked up the steps to the cabin. They walked in and Emma started preparing them both a cup of tea. Her parents had gone with Leo up for the dance class he did with Will. Emma had not wanted to go up there again; too many memories with Killian and the whole dancing part. Leo had liked this as he wanted to show their parents the moves he had learned this gave Emma some alone time. Now she could spend that time with her friend.

Ruby tried to help out but Emma waved her off, "no please sit down and let me." She waved over to the dining table and saw a pile of Leo's magic stuff on it. She sighed and quickly piled it all together at the end of the table. Ruby laughed at this, "So your brother is still doing his magic trick this Saturday I assume?" She looked at all the stuff the boy had gathered, the little she knew about him he seemed to be an inventive kid. She absentmindedly picked up the flyer on top with the list of rules in the talent show.

"Yes it does seem like I'll be getting on stage anyway, he still insists on me being his assistant. won't let mom do it, I asked, believe me." Emma sighed and placed two cups of tea in front of them.

"Oh I'm sure you'll be a spectacular part of his show," Ruby grinned and waggled her eyebrows at her friend. She tried to lighten the mood as she knew how much Emma would have liked to dance in that show. She kept scanning the rules and suddenly she saw something that made her smile. _"There must be at least one resort guest on stage in the act; this is a show for the guests, performed by the guest."_ This gave Ruby an idea and while she kept talking with Emma a plan formed in her mind, a plan she needed help from Will to make it happen and a phone call to Killian too. She grinned at her cleverness as she sipped her tea. Emma appeared to not notice the brewing of ideas behind her friend's brown eyes.

The next day Ruby went into action, she had texted Will to make him come to her cabin once he got out of his morning shift. When he finally came she could hardly stand still from excitement.

When Will saw his girlfriend practically bouncing up and down, he quirked an eyebrow and asked, "What's gotten you in such a state, love?" He leaned over and kissed her.

"Oh, I know how we can make Killian and Emma dance on Saturday... Come in I'll tell you." She hooked her arm in his and they walked inside. When they finally sat down by her small table he said, "So spill it woman, what's gotten you so excited?"

"You know what? I found the rules for that talent show and guess what? It says that it only requires _one_ resort guest on stage… that means we can admit Emma _and_ Killian together… see ain't that just clever?" Ruby asked with a smile and swept her arms out in a mock version of a bow.

Will grinned at the enthusiasm Ruby put into this, she seemed to have a mission that would let Emma and Killian dance this Saturday. "I like your idea, love, but we need to let Killian in on this little plan of yours for it to work, I'm not sure he has any plans whatsoever to come up to this place, least of all at the talent show." Will had talked with his friend the other day and he knew that Killian was not keen on setting foot at the resort any time soon. Every time he had been together with Emma it had been somewhere in Storybrooke.

"I know, I know," Ruby waved her hands towards Will, "that is where you come in my love, you need to persuade that pirate friend of yours that he _has_ to come up here and that he is to keep this a complete secret for Emma… I want to surprise her… tell him to bring the Pirate outfit, that is the most stunning piece of dancing they've done together, that is what they should do…" Ruby started to plan out loud and in her mind made plans for how this would work. "Oh shite, I need to get Emma's wench costume… how the frig do I do that?" She looked over at Will as if he had all the answers.

Will shook his head, "I got no bloody idea, it's your plan…" he laughed and continued, "I need a drink got a beer or what…" Ruby nodded absentmindedly her mind still going over her plan, he walked to the small fridge and opened and took out a bottled beer. He took a long sip of the cool beverage and looked at his girlfriend, she had been plotting down a to-do-list and now she sat drumming her fingers on the table mumbling about the dress she needed to get out of Emma's cabin.

"Why don't you talk to her mother, I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Nolan would love to plot some surprise for her daughter, and they seem pretty okay with Emma being with Killian… so I don't know…" Will suggested and sat down rolling the bottle between his hands.

"That is a great idea, I just need to catch her in a moment without Emma… hmm… oh wasn't both her parents with Leo to the dance class yesterday… don't you have another class this Friday, tomorrow?" Ruby asked excitedly and plotted something down on her paper.

"Aye they were, I guess Emma doesn't want to go up there any more… you could come up to the studio tomorrow morning then, hope they will be there… okay?" Will said and shrugged, he liked the idea of them surprising their friend but sometimes Ruby would go a little over the top when planning things like this.

"Thank you, Will, you call Killian and let him know of our plan… could you please." Ruby looked at Will with a sweet smile. Will picked out his phone with a mock groan and called Killian.

It took a few tries but in the end, it had taken a joint effort from both Will and Ruby to persuade Killian to come to the talent show. Ruby had laid out her plan for what dance they could do and Killian did agree that would be the best choice to do that. He would bring the pirate costume and meet them backstage and he then only hoped that Ruby would be able to persuade Emma to come on stage. "It will be fine, once she sees you all dressed up as a pirate I'm pretty sure she would not be able to resist your devilishly handsome looks." At this Will exclaimed, "Oy you calling someone else devilishly handsome, love, now _that_ is not good form woman." He laughed as Ruby only stuck out her tongue at him.

Killian had laughed at this, he had heard Will's outburst, he was somewhat surprised that his friends would go to such length to surprise Emma and make their final dance happen after all. When they said goodbye he said, "Thanks Rubes, this is really nice of you to do all of this for us, I know it will mean the world to Emma."

"You're welcome Killian that is what one does for friends ain't it?" Ruby explained, and Killian could only agree to this.

When Will had hung up he emptied the bottle of beer and looked over his girlfriend, "so what do you wanna do now, I'm off for the rest of the day so we could call Emma and see if she wants to join us out in town to meet up with Killian… or we could just stay here."

"Oh think we stay here, I know Killian and Emma are having a date night tonight, like in a real, for real one… not just eating at Granny's but he is taking her somewhere fancy I think." Ruby said with a huge grin, she had been over the moon when Emma had called and asked if she could borrow the pink dress for their date. Will agreed and they spent the rest of the day together and Will tried to give a few ideas to Ruby's grand plan of giving their friends a chance to dance.

The next day Ruby moved forward in her mission and walked up the hotel and sighed in relief when she saw that it wasn't Walsh on duty that morning. Emma had told her about their suspicion about who had taken the pictures. Ruby agreed that the man was a creep beyond words, and did not understand why the Evil Queen kept him around. But they had joked that he was the perfect minion and Emma had told her about her own flying monkey reference, this had made Ruby laugh.

She walked up and asked for the admission form for the talent show, the woman at the desk this morning gave her the paper with a smile, and let Ruby sort out the form herself. When she had to write names of participants of the act she only wrote "Emma Nolan and partner", this way no one would know it was Killian who would dance in the act. She knew without a doubt that Walsh would try to ruin her plans if he knew Killian would be back. Ruby only hoped that they would be able to keep Killian hidden from Walsh until the very last minute.

Satisfied with the knowledge that the first steps had been taken in her big plan to take form she walked to the dance studio. When she entered she could see her boyfriend in full action mode as he teaches the kids every street dance move he knew. She smiled fondly at this, then she scanned the row of parents sitting in the back and when she found Emma's parents she was relieved to see them both there, that meant she could drag Mrs. Nolan to the cabin and make sure she got her hands on the dress.

Ruby walked over to them and waved hello. Mary Margaret smiled when she saw Emma's friend come over, she thought Ruby was there to meet Will after the class so she was a bit shocked that Ruby leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Sorry to bother you Mrs. Nolan but I need your help with something, could we go out for a moment… please." Mary Margaret nodded and leaned over and told her husband she would be right back, and then she walked out of the studio with Ruby.

"So what is going on Ruby?" Mary Margaret was rather curious at this point; it didn't seem as if Ruby was in a panic so it wasn't an emergency.

"I want to make Emma and Killian dance tomorrow, already got him in on it, but I do want to surprise Emma tomorrow so I really need your help with something, can you keep a secret from your daughter until tomorrow night?" Ruby asked in a rush, she hoped Emma's mother would be in on her idea or she would have to make plans for some other dress for Emma.

Mary Margaret was very surprised at this; she had seen Emma being more and more miserable every time her brother would talk about the talent show. She nodded slowly and said, "Well that all depends on what your plan is, she is not too fond of her doing the part with her brother, but he insists, and she does have a rather soft spot for her brother." She smiled fondly at the thought, she had always liked the bond between her kids, the age gap had worried her when they found out they would have Leo, but now they did great together.

"Great, I need you to get me Emma's pirate wench dress for me, so I can have that ready for their dance, Killian is dressing up as a pirate and they do their pirate-dance they did at the charity event," Ruby spoke fast and hoped Emma's mother could keep up.

"That is going to be a problem to sneak that thing out of her room; she has it hanging on the door to the closet. I think the dress means the world to her, so many good memories you know." Mary Margaret shrugged and sighed, she could see that Ruby wanted this to happen.

"Bugger!… oh pardon my French but that really sucks, I really want her to wear that dress… oh oh… could you get her beloved brother to persuade her to wear that dress for the show he is doing? You could tell him to be a pirate magician, I'm sure I can find an eye patch somewhere or you can make one for him, and a bandana and a shirt and ripped pants, voila a cute pirate magician." Ruby grinned at her own brilliant idea, how had she not thought of that before.

Mary Margaret laughed at Ruby's obvious enthusiasm and assured her, "I'm pretty sure I can make that happen, the boy is far too caught up in the fact that Emma is dating "the pirate" as he calls Killian after he heard them having dressed up as pirates last time they danced. He so adores his big sister."

"Super, great, awesome… thank you so much, Mrs. Nolan, I'll let you know if any changes happen okay." She gave Mary Margaret her phone number and got hers in return. Had she been able to she would have skipped on her way to her cabin afterward, but her foot was still bugging her from time to time and she had already walked too much as it was this morning. She went to her cabin to rest and make the final plans for tomorrow.

* * *

Friday morning Emma had woken up in Killian's bed, their date last night had turned into one of the best nights ever. He had invited her out to one of the finer restaurants and she had hurried to call Ruby to borrow the pink dress again.

Killian had picked her up at her cabin, she knew he did not like the idea of going back to the resort but he had insisted that this date would be done properly. As such he had shown up with a single red rose and kissed her cheek right in front of her parents. Her father had done a big show of sitting on the couch with his arms crossed looking sternly at the young couple. Mary Margaret had told him how silly he looked and then turned to the couple and smiled, "Have fun okay, we will leave the door unlocked in case you come home late," she had shot her husband a glare when he had started to protest and mumble something about curfews and being a gentleman bringing home the girl in an orderly time.

Emma had to stifle a laugh at his attempt to act like the grumpy father; she knew from her mother that he knew about their night in Killian's cabin, it was just not something he would openly acknowledge at the moment. When her mother had told her this Emma had rolled her eyes and laughed and told her mother that she hoped her father would realize that she no longer was his little girl anymore.

Walking to the door Emma had whispered to her mother that she might not be home before the next morning, she had tried to give this information without blushing. Her mother had just smiled and said it was quite alright. Killian had not heard her speak to her mother about this; she wanted to talk to him about it during their date.

The drive to the restaurant was filled with laughter and small talk about their life. They found it easy to talk about anything and Emma was still getting used to the idea of sharing her whole life and deepest ideas and thoughts with another person. But looking at Killian as they ate and enjoyed their meal she felt more and more at ease being so open about her life.

Their evening together had been great, they even managed to find a small bar that had a dance floor and they spend several hours there dancing and drinking. Killian had tried to hold back on his drinks, but when Emma had whispered in his ear that she wanted to spend the night at his room he had smirked and ordered another drink for himself. Granny's Dinner and Inn were just a few streets from the bar so they could easily walk there when they wanted.

Now she snuggled closer to Killian's warm body as she tried to figure out how late it was. She was feeling slightly achy in certain parts of her body but remembering how the night before had been for them she didn't mind at all. Turning her head up very gently so she wouldn't wake up Killian she looked up at his face, her hand resting on his chest. She let her chin rest on her hand as she gazed on his still sleeping form. It still amazed her that this man had come into her life, and in the way it had happened, it all just seemed too unreal. But it was very real and she would be going home and in a few weeks Killian would take over a small apartment not far from her loft. He had found it yesterday online and applied for the apartment and was certain he would get it. Emma was excited at the prospect of having him close to her again; she would miss him for the next few weeks.

Suddenly she found herself gazing into Killian's smiling blue eyes, and his sleepy voice, "morning love, sleep alright?" Emma hummed in agreement and placed a small kiss on his chest, right over his heart, "I sure have, I do not mind that the bed is tiny, I like sleeping close to you, a woman could get used to this." She smirked as she remembered the night before when they had joked about the size of the bed, but they had managed alright anyway.

"Aye I'm not complaining either," He grinned cheekily at her and let his hand slide over her still naked back, letting his warm hand rest above her behind. She tried not to let it show that his wandering hand did something to her heartbeat. Shaking her head she said, "I need to get back to the resort, my parents want to do some family thing this afternoon," She sighed and let herself rise over his body and kissed him, trying not to let it grow to more than a sweet morning kiss. But her attempt failed as he tangled his other hand in her hair and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss opening his mouth inviting her in. She relented with a sigh and straddled his waist as she kept kissing him, humming in appreciation.

It took an hour more before she was finally dressed, and by 9 o'clock they could drive Emma back to the resort. Killian opted to just say goodbye to her in the parking lot, he was not sure he was ready to face the weird comments from her father when she returned so late. Emma only laughed and said, "don't worry about my father, he really does like you, you know… he is just getting one of his protective daddy modes sometimes."

"I know, talk later okay?" Killian said and gave her a final kiss before letting her go. He watched Emma walk down the path to her parent's cabin, his heart filled with love for the woman still wearing the dress she had worn the night before. Had anyone looked closer they would know what she had been doing, he only hoped she would get back without getting intercepted by curious guests. He had spent the better part of last night trying to _not_ let her know about Ruby's plans for the talent show. When Ruby had called him the day before he had been a bit hesitant about saying yes, but he knew how much this would mean to Emma if they did indeed dance. So he had agreed and had opted to _not_ talk about dancing at all last night, in fear of him giving away the surprise. It had worked and he looked forward to the surprise the next day.

Emma walked into the cabin and it was empty, curiously she walked to the table and found the note from her parents letting her know they were at the dance studio with Leo. Of course, Will's dance class, she smiled, this gave her a chance to take a bath and change clothes before they got back. She knew her parents would know where she had been and to some extent also what she had been doing last night with Killian. She didn't care, she felt so happy and content at the thought of what she had with Killian. All of this went over and over in her head as she showered and got dressed, then she waited for her family to return.

When they finally came back she was met with a speed-talking Leo and she could not make any sense in what he said. "Slow down kiddo, what's gotten you so excited?" Emma asked laughing, she shook her head, and sometimes her brother tended to be a bit too excited about things. All she got out of his talk was something with the talent show the next day.

"Mom got this super great idea for my act tomorrow; she said she would make me a costume and all… I want to be a pirate magician…" He nearly jumped up and down in anticipation.

"A what? Did you say a _pirate_ magician, how… what… why?" Emma asked curiously and looked to her mother for clarification; it seemed to have been her idea.

"Well you know you had yet to find out what you would wear for the act with Leo and since you bought that pretty pirate dress I just thought it would be nice to fit it into Leo's act and well no one has _ever_ seen a pirate magician, have they, that would make it brand new and people will notice." Her mother tried to explain as Emma looked at her skeptically, her mother was far too fidgety for this to be a sudden idea; it had to have come from somewhere.

"I might even win, if I stand out, mom says so, it's how it's done, you have to stand out… please Emma can we do the pirate theme… please…" Leo begged and hung on her arm looking at her with his huge green eyes. Emma sighed, she had not thought she would get a chance to wear the dress anymore on this vacation; it would be a shame for it to just hang in the closet, wouldn't it?

"Okay my little Lion, you'll be the 'Magical pirate Leo the Lion'," Emma gave in and sighed, she tried to look closer at her mother but she had busied herself with getting lunch ready as she directed Leo in finding his old pair of jeans that already had a hole in them. They would cut off the legs and make them look a little more raggedy and he also found a t-shirt they could to the same with. Emma shook her head as Leo kept talking about his outfit for the rest of the day; she was even dragged into the making of his pirate gear. They did have fun together as a family and she quite" enjoyed the time spent with her family. She was just not sure she was looking that much forward to the talent show the next day. It would happen without Killian, they had already talked about that the other day and Killian had not wanted to step into that auditorium knowing that he would not be able to dance with Emma. They had both been gutted about that whole thing, but Killian had promised her dancing on their date last night, and dance they had. Emma was just looking forward to this vacation to be over so they could be back in Boston and Killian could move there as well.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: okay I do hope you like what I'm doing with this... there are going to be more action the next chapter that will cover the talent show... so it might be a long chapter!? Let me know in a review if there is anything you want to see or what you think, did this chapter work or not...
> 
> A HUGE thanks to my trusted Timberwolf3706... thanks for lending an ear and eye from time to time when I get stuck... and thanks to my always Faithfull beta... thanks for the edit you do...


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the talent show is here... will Ruby's plan work?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So we're finally here... the last chapter... I'm amazed that it had "only" taken me about 2 months to write this...(Looks like my writer's block period is finally over) had the first 7 chapters ready when I started posting this 1,5 month ago...wuhu... I do have an epilogue in mind that I want to write... but will mark this as finished... hope to hear from you in a review, let me know what you liked (or didn't like) about this story, and what you want to see happen in the epilogue... got some ideas myself but I'm open to suggestions.
> 
> It has been a great joy to write this as it has been something that I have had in mind for quite some time now. Got a few other CaptainSwan ideas brewing up in my head... also AU/inspired by another tv show ;) Follow me and you will get an update once I start with that project... (Also have a somewhat original idea brewing that in one way or another have been inspired by some of CaptainSwans history and some pretty awesome songs by Brantley Gilbert... thanks to Timberwolf3706 I found this amazing singer. )
> 
> See endnotes about the music/dances in this chapter... enjoy.

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**Chapter 16**

Saturday morning Emma found herself pulled into a flurry of preparations for the talent show this afternoon. Who would have known so much needed to be done before she could be her brother's assistant? For some odd reason, Ruby had taken upon herself to help her with hair and makeup and fussed endlessly with this after they had eaten a quick lunch. Leo had practiced continuously on his tricks and Emma had to smile at his excitement over doing this, and it rubbed off on her own expectations for the show. She found herself looking forward to it, trying to forget that she should have danced with Killian on that very same stage. Killian had sent her a few texts during the morning wishing them good luck.

The talent show was set to begin at 2 o'clock that afternoon and afterward, there would be dinner and dancing. Ruby was finishing up the final touches of Emma's hair, she had made a loose style with a simple braid wrapping around the crown of her head; the rest of her hair hung in loose wavy curls down her back.

When the time came, Emma walked with her family and Ruby up to the hotel auditorium, they found their way behind the stage, leaving their parents to find a seat. Ruby had followed them and when Emma asked what she was doing backstage she had said, "Oh I'm volunteering to help people with hair and makeup as they come back here, just in case someone needs help with anything. It's something I can do without walking around too much. I'll make sure to pop by you before you have to be on stage to fix your hair, just in case." She smiled warmly at her friend, trying to hide her underlying excitement over the fact that Killian would be coming backstage while Emma and Leo were on stage. Ruby had stolen a peek at the show's list of acts and she had let him know what time he had to be there. She would go to the backdoor to let him in, once Emma was safely up on stage, she just hoped they would be able to hide him from Walsh until Emma walked off stage.

Emma nodded and tried to entertain her brother while they waited for the show to begin. He was bouncing off the wall with excitement, and she had to remind him to stay still or he would tumble over one of the other contestants. She scanned the room where they sat; it was fairly large, larger than the backstage area in the Town Hall auditorium she and Killian had danced in two weeks ago. She sighed at the thought of Killian, she fiddled with her phone and shot off a text to him _"love you… miss you… wanted you to be here with me, sorry we're not going to dance today…love you."_

_**Killian:** _ _"miss you too Swan, we get plenty of opportunities to dance together in the future, remember I'm moving to Boston with you. Wish you both luck with the magic act, your brother will rock the show… wish I could see it." (The text ended in a long row of kisses)_

Emma smiled when she read his text, her heart swelled with love as she read the last part, he was already feeling like a part of her family, she thought, and then she quickly called her parents asking them to record their show. They assured her that they already had their phones ready, and was looking forward to seeing their kids on stage together.

Emma could see that Merida, the head waitress had been assigned to coordinate when people should get ready for their act. She could see Ruby talking with her from time to time, it looked as if this whole thing was a team effort and everyone pitched in where they could. Walsh had taken the role of being ringmaster for the whole show, introducing the acts as they walked up on stage. When Merida walked over to them and said they had a few more minutes to get ready Emma got up and started to help Leo with getting his things ready. They had found a small table she would carry on stage with his magic stuff on.

When Walsh finally announced that it was time for the spectacular magic show with the pirate Leo the Lion, Emma took a deep breath and walked behind Leo on stage. They passed Walsh going down and he shot her a big smile and managed to whisper, "Good luck Emma." He had moved so close to her that she could feel his breath on her face, she took a large step away from him and shook her head trying to make her mind focus on the act ahead of her. They had practiced the last few days, so she knew when Leo would need this or that object for his show, she could do this. Within a short time, she had forgotten the incident with Walsh and quite enjoyed herself helping her brother on stage. Leo had a blast that was evident, he charmed the audience with his little tricks and he had even managed to weave in some pirate references to his act.

The second Emma and Leo had walked on stage Ruby walked out of the backdoor where she found Killian waiting for her. He was dressed in all his pirate gear, he even had put on his hook, and when Ruby asked how he would do the lift with that thing he had grinned, "I'll take it off before she runs to me to do the lift, I'm pretty sure we can nail it this time." Ruby could only agree with him as she ushered him inside to the backstage area. She had found a dark corner where Killian sat down waiting for Emma to walk off the stage; Ruby had told him that there would be one act between Emma and Leo and when he would be dancing with Emma. He felt restless as he watched from his hideout; Walsh was busy looking over the chart and then order people to do this or that so he never saw Killian.

When Emma and Leo walked off stage they were met by an overexcited Ruby, Killian watched them hug and talk with huge grins on their faces. Walsh had walked up on stage to present the next act, and he was now walking over towards Emma and Ruby. Killian scowled at this, and he bristled when he could see how close he was standing to Emma, he knew they would be the next act so he walked swiftly over to them. Emma had her back to him and Walsh was so occupied in talking with Emma that he did not see Killian coming closer to them, close enough for him to hear what Walsh said.

"So Emma I see you're up next with a dance act, who are you dancing with… your brother?" Walsh asked in puzzlement and a condescending look at Leo as if the very thought of her dancing with her brother would be off-putting for him. He had seen Emma Nolan on the act list and had been curious to know who she would dance with.

"What…? I'm not dancing; you of all people should know _why_ I'm not going to dance today." Emma bit out between clenched teeth, aware of her brother still being with her.

Walsh looked at her in what could be called fake sympathy and showed her his clipboard, "But look here, Miss. Nolan, your name is here, _with partner_!?"

Emma looked at the paper and frowned, _what the hell?_ "Whoever put my name up there has lost their minds I'm not going to dance."

"Well you could always dance with me if your _partner_ does not show up," Walsh said with a smirk and his eyes light with hope of finally dancing with Emma Nolan.

"I'm not…"

"This Swan only dances with her pirate!" Killian's voice broke off whatever Emma had planned on firing back at Walsh. She whirled around and found her pirate standing in front of her in all his pirate glory, including a hook she realized with a smirk. She raised her eyebrow and said, "Did you lose a hand there pirate, think you can handle dancing with that thing." She lifted her head and took in his pirate attire; she would never get tired of seeing him dressed up like this. Her heart hummed in appreciation.

"I think it's you who couldn't handle it!" Killian shot back with a smirk and raised his eyebrow in a mock challenge. Taking her into his arms, he leaned down and kissed her quickly. He looked back at Walsh who still stood there gaping, "I think the lady Swan here asked you to back off mate!"

Emma had her arms wrapped around his waist as he spoke with Walsh, who didn't look like he was about to leave, she rolled her eyes at this; honestly couldn't that man take a hint.

"But… but you can't dance… I should… I mean…" Walsh tried to stutter out.

"Oh come on Walsh you know the rules just as anyone else, there must be at least one resort guest on stage, and as far as I know Emma Nolan here is _still_ a resort guest, so shut it and let them dance!" Ruby fired off and looked at him with a glare. Emma had to smile at how easy it had been for her friend to scare the crap out of the Flying Monkey. She was still trying to figure out what was going on here, why would her name be on that list anyway.

"I…" Walsh tried again then sighed in resignation, he shoved the microphone in Ruby's hand and proclaimed, "Then you do the honors of introducing them, I need some air…!" Then he stalked off much to the amusement from everyone around them. The argument had been loud enough for people around them to hear what was said.

"Thanks, Ruby, you are a beast when it comes to scaring the shite out of people," Killian laughed and hugged Emma to his side, then he looked down at her and whispered, "ready to dance with your pirate, eh… Swan princess?"

Emma grinned stupidly up at him, she could not believe he was actually here and they would be dancing on that stage within a minute or so. She tried to mentally prepare herself for the dance they had not practiced on in the past few days; not since Killian had been fired.

"Oh what if I forget something, we haven't even practiced this… I…" Emma looked at him worried as she could hear the applause from the act leaving the stage; it was time for them to walk on stage.

"Don't worry we got this… you got this… you'll do brilliantly, and if you're up for it we try for the lift okay… I'll take off the hook and throw it behind the stage before you run to me, just thought it could be fun to try and dance with the hook, making the whole pirate theme complete."

"Hmm I do like the complete pirate look, I'll try for the jump okay. Thank you, Killian, for being here," She looked to Ruby now walking up the stairs, "we got a good friend there don't we…" she had guessed it had to be Ruby who had signed them up for the show, then a thought struck her, "oh bloody hell was my mother in on this too?" She looked up at Killian who tried not to laugh too much.

"Aye your mother was in on it too, Ruby had talked to her when she tried to find a way to get you into this dress," Killian explained and ran a hand up her back, gently caressing her neck.

"So mother came up with the brilliant idea to have Leo dressed as a pirate for his show… she is friggin sneaky my mother…" Emma sighed and shook her head; well she would have to give her mother a hug for helping her and Killian in getting their chance to dance anyway.

"You got great friends and a family who loves you… and a devilishly handsome boyfriend who is looking forward to dancing with his Swan." He whispered into her ear as they could hear Ruby introduce them as the next act. Emma found herself grinning as they walked up on stage.

Ruby walked up on the stage with a slight limp, her foot was still bothering her, then she found her inner entertainer and shouted to the audience, "Okay ladies and gentlemen, be prepared to be wowed and amazed as I introduce to you, the pirate and his lady Swan doing a wickedly spectacular pirate dance. Give it up for Emma and Killian." She gave thumbs up to the sound guy Tiny and rushed off stage and gave Emma a quick high-five on her way out.

Emma felt butterflies starting to flutter around in her stomach as they found their start positions. Then the music began to play and she found herself moving into the dance with ease. Every twist and turn of their dance routine was done effortlessly and with ease. Whenever Emma dared to look out at their audience she could only see happy and smiling faces, this gave her enough courage to do the dance moves that took her to the other end of the stage. With a grin she watched her pirate remove his hook and to the pearls of laughter from the auditorium, he flicked it over the edge of the stage in a dramatic arc. He lifted his hands and raised a challenging eyebrow at her, while his fingers beckoning her to run to him. The music was getting to the crescendo and she nodded her head, letting Killian know she was ready. She locked her eyes with his as she moved closer and closer to him; she could see he was ready for her to jump up into the lift. When she felt herself soar over his head her whole body hummed in excitement and joy bubbled to every nerve ending of her body.

Killian couldn't stop grinning as he gently eased Emma down again, her body sliding close to his, he held on to her waist and when he saw her beaming face he forgot they were on a stage with hundreds of people watching. They were in a world of their own, huge grins on their faces, they had been able to dance despite everything that had happened, and this final lift was the culmination of everything they had been through. Emma grinned mischievously and let her hands slide around his neck and pulls him in for a kiss. Killian opened his mouth and let her take her reward; they kissed to the endless cheers of their audience. It took an effort to pull away again, but suddenly Emma was reminded that they were in fact on a stage, kissing in front of everyone. She hid her face in his chest and tried to suppress the giggles bubbling inside of her. Killian held her in his arms and whispered, "Come, love, let's get out of here." Emma nodded and with a beat red face, she did a bow and followed Killian off the stage.

Ruby threw herself in Emma's arms squalling in happiness; she had given the microphone back to a sulking looking Walsh who trod up on stage to present the next act.

"You guys were effing fantastic, the audience loved you, bet you're going to win the whole thing," Ruby said in a rush as she kept hugging Emma.

"Well ain't there a jury or something for that?" Killian asked he had honestly not thought about this as something they would win, "hope Walsh is not in that jury, don't think he likes us that much!" He joked and shook his head that man needed to figure out where people's boundaries were.

"Oh God I hope not," Emma whispered looking at her friend Ruby for help, she had honestly not thought about this.

"No worries it's a panel of juries selected from each department of the resort, so I think you got a winning chance," Ruby explained and finally pulled back from Emma.

"Oh shite where is my brother?" Emma suddenly asked and looked around in the backstage area with a frantic look on her face. Where had the little lion walked off to?

"Don't worry, I walked him out to your parents, think he found a spot on the front row on the floor when you guy's danced, he looked so proud…" Ruby started to reassure Emma and then spotted Emma's family walking backstage. "Speaking of the devil, look…"

Emma turned around and smiled brightly at her family, she hugged them all, ruffling Leo's hair and said, "Sorry for leaving you behind the stage buddy, I forgot to say how awesome you were up there, you did great," Leo smiled at his sister and hugged her middle, then peaked behind her and found Killian, his eyes lit up at the sight of the pirate in front of him. Leo waved Killian's hook in the air and grinned, "Look I found your hook, Killian."

"Thanks, kid, was wondering where that had gone off to," Killian took the hook from Leo and smiled reassuringly at him, "sorry I missed your show, Leo."

"No worries Killian, mom recorded it on her phone, I can get her to send it to you…" Leo turned to his mother and said, "Could you… please, mom… I want Killian to see my magic show…" He looked back up at Killian and said, "See I'm dressed as a pirate too, that was how we had Emma dressed in her pirate dress, mom just told me that was why she wanted me to do a pirate magic show…" The boy talked in a hurried voice, wanting to tell the whole tale to Killian and everyone else.

Killian smiled at the boy's enthusiasm and laughed, "Well I'm glad you got your sister to dress as a pirate, or I might have ended up looking rather silly dressed as a pirate alone." Killian made a move to make a high five with Leo, who shot him a wink and high fived his new friend.

Emma had watched this whole scene with a smile on her lips, she was so amazed how easy Killian had become such a big part of her life, her family. She looked over at her mother, who looked like she could end up crying any minute now. Rolling her eyes at her mother's sentimentality she wrapped her mother in a hug and whispered, "Thanks mom, I know you helped Ruby getting all of this setup."

"You're welcome Sweetie; we wanted this vacation to end on a happier note, and not with a sad face." Mary Margaret fought hard to not let tears flow down her face, she had been so proud of her daughter when she had danced with Killian.

When Emma stepped away from her mother she found Killian's arm wrapped around her middle and he said, "aye thank you, Mrs. Nolan, this would not have happened without your intervention." Killian could see how happy both her parents were.

"You did look stunning up there," Emma's father spoke and clapped Killian on the shoulder, looking him straight in his eyes, "you both did… thank you." Killian had no words but a small nod in return. He was pleased that David Nolan had warmed up to him, he looked down at Emma in his arms and he knew the future would be filled with many more spectacular experiences.

While they had talked there had been some more acts on stage and Walsh was now introducing the final act of the talent show. There would be a small break where the jury would do their voting.

Ruby knew Walsh was planning on filling the void between the final act and the result with his own version of a standup comedy show. She had seen the text he had added at the bottom of the plan he had carried around.

When she told Emma and Killian what Walsh had planned they both rolled their eyes and then she shot them a mischievous grin, "wanna do something crazy," Both Emma and Killian looked at their friend, both wondering what schemes she had come up with now. She took their silence as a confirmation, "come with me on stage and we get the crowd going in a little dance ensemble, I'll just run out and find Will and conspire with Tiny, he is a great guy, think I can manage to persuade him, I got an idea for the music too. Are you with me… please… Walsh is going to bore the crowd to death before the votes are in… come on… live a little."

Killian looked at Emma with a grin, and she finally relented and waved her friend off, "Go find Will and fix us some music and we can wing it with some freestyle dance, and get the crowd going."

Ruby whooped in glee and ran off to set things in motion leaving Killian and Emma behind with her family. Emma looked at her parents and shot them a questioning look; they both just smiled and beamed at her.

"What will Regina think of this," She worried her lip with her teeth, she was not sure the owner would be pleased with this.

"No worries, if you guys get the party going and the guests are entertained I think she will be okay with it. We got your back Sweetie." Mary Margaret reassured their daughter.

Killian grabbed Emma's hand when the act on stage ended; they both searched the space for Ruby to return.

Just as Walsh was about to go on stage Ruby swooped in and grabbed the microphone out of his hands and said, "Sorry, change off plans here, make room for your intermission act, coming through… make way…" she had Will hot in her heels and Killian pulled Emma with him. He was laughing so hard by now, this was so bloody crazy and he would enjoy this so much. None of them noticed the stunned look on Walsh's face when the microphone was snagged from him, he had started to follow the group but on second thought he was not so sure he would be able to deal with a group of four against one. He would deal with them when they got down; he turned and began searching for his boss.

Since Ruby was still not one hundred percent recovered from her injury, she held on to Will as she limped up on stage but her smile was bright and she grinned widely. She turned to watch Emma and Killian walk with them on stage. This was going to be fun.

"So we have a little break now and the votes are counted, we would like to make sure you're not bored while we wait, so I give you our dance team here." She swept her hand out to Emma and Killian then grabbed Will's hand and whispered, "you need to help me here love," Will nodded and grinned.

"Hit it Tiny, crank it up" Ruby pointed down to the large man behind the soundboard. He gave a thumbs up and hit play and the song "shut up and dance" blared out of the speakers.

Emma smiled, she loved that song, perfect for getting a party started; she was just not used to being center stage for doing things like this. But she could see that both Killian and Will were getting ready to get the crowd dancing, she just followed their lead. Ruby was trying to keep up with the dancing as much as she could with her still-healing foot, but she was having so much fun.

Killian wrapped his arms around Emma and started to sway back and forth to the music, and soon she was swept into a tempo filled dance with Killian as Will still worked on getting the crowd dancing. In the end, Emma found herself so wrapped up in the dance and she let go of her insecurity, and when she saw her parents down on the floor doing their own dance she laughed heartily as she wrapped her arms around Killian's neck.

"You are a bloody marvel, you know that Swan?" Killian moved a little slower as he whispered into her ear, he could feel her shutter from his breath running over her sensitive skin, "I'm not letting you go, you know that I love you so damn much, I can't believe I got a chance to dance with you here of all places…I…" Emma shushed him by placing her hand on his scruffy face and looked at him with a fond smile, and then she mouthed to the song, "just shut up and dance with me…"

He moved closer to her ear again and whispered in her ear, "As you wish," then gave her neck a warm kiss and twirled her away from him but never letting go of her hand. They moved to the music and both had the time of their lives, it was crazy and fun and would be a fantastic memory to take home with them.

The whole audience ended up doing their own dance to the music, and everyone was having a party.

While everyone enjoyed themselves Walsh had stalked around the room trying to locate his boss. In the end, he saw her, but his attempt to talk to her seemed to be futile, as she was wrapped up in a heated dance with her husband. "What the hell is wrong with everyone at this place!?" he grumbled and stalked out of the auditorium. They could wrap the damn show up themselves.

As the song ended Emma found herself wrapped in Killian's arms as they turned to the audience, all cheering at their spontaneous act. Everyone had participated in the dance all in their own way, and that was the goal of this intermission. Emma looked over at Ruby who grinned wolfishly at them; she gave Emma thumbs up as she held on to Will. They had danced together the best they had could with Ruby's foot, meaning she had most of the time been carried around by Will. He had taken the freestyle part upon himself to do a few street dance moves along the way, much to the enjoyment of Leo and the rest of the kids who had been in his dance classes. Emma could see her brother in front of the stage cheering on them all.

Regina strode onto the stage with a big smile on her face, the four friends looked at her in surprise; they had all pretty much expected her to be mad as hell for their little stunt. Killian walked over to her first, still holding on to Emma's hand.

"Mrs. Mills I'm sorry we…" But Killian never got any further as she held up a hand and beckoned Will and Ruby over too. Ruby looked a little uneasy over the whole thing; she wondered where Walsh had walked off to.

"Look I know why you guys did this, and I imagine Emma and Killian's participation in the talent show was also a ploy to change how things had gone." The four friends looked sheepishly among themselves as Regina talked; they were not sure where she would go with this.

Regina sighed and admitted, "this intermission part was not part of what Walsh had planned I'm sure," she had spotted him hurry out of the auditorium while she had danced with Robin. "But it gave every guest here a fun experience and for that, I thank you, _all_!" She looked pointedly at Killian at this final statement, then smiled, "and yes Killian you too." With this out of the way, Regina found the microphone on its stand and made sure the sound was one.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a hand to our fantastic dance department." Everyone in the room applauded the group of friends, all standing a little sheepishly receiving the praise. They waved their final goodbye to the audience and walked off stage. All sighed in relief and then Ruby burst out laughing, "shite man that was fantastic, thank you guys for doing this with us, I nearly shite myself when the Evil Queen walked on stage."

"I know," Emma agreed, smiling and laughing with Ruby, "but guess she saw how it benefited the show and chose to let it slide."

"You're amazing Ruby," Will stated and hugged his girl, giving her a big kiss. Emma grinned at this and then turned to her own man.

"You were fantastic up there Killian, thank you for being here, agreeing to Ruby's nutty plan, that actually worked, who would have thought." Emma smiled and pulled him in for a kiss. Killian only hummed in agreement and kept kissing his Swan.

"Emma… Emma… they are telling who won… come on, we need to get on stage…" Leo's voices shouted and he ran over starting to pull his sister back up on stage, with the rest of the acts that had been part of the talent show.

"You coming pirate, we're part of this too," Emma grinned and entwined their fingers, dragging him with her and Leo.

Emma was still buzzing from their intermission stunt, where they had gotten everyone dancing in the auditorium; she could not believe she had done that. It was one thing to dance alone with Killian, but having the whole room dancing with them had been such a blast.

Killian and Emma stood with Leo at their side, the boy was moving restlessly around and Emma had to hold on to him so he didn't drop off the stage. Emma caught her parent's eyes; they looked so happy and proud.

Regina had made a small speech that congratulated the acts on some great performances and how this was one of the fun traditions at this place that she looked forward to every year. Finally, she ended, "So I think we need to find out what the result is, don't we…?" The crowd agreed and she nodded while she with a smile opened the envelope with the jury's result. "Okay 3rd place goes to Leo the magical pirate."

Leo whooped in happiness, Emma hugged him and pushed him towards Regina so he could receive his reward. He got a rosette and an envelope with 300$, he waved down his parents who brimmed proudly at their son.

Emma was suddenly a bit nervous she had only known she would be part of Leo's act, but now she realized that she too would compete as well. She squeezed Killian's hand when the 2nd place was announced; it went to some middle-aged woman who had played the piano.

"1st place goes to…Emma Nolan and partner… well, Killian Jones." Regina smiled as she said this, well that went pretty well she thought. She knew that it had been hard firing him but she was happy that they at least got this closure for their effort.

Emma stood gaping as she tried to understand that they had won, "what…?"

"We won love, come on…" Killian said with a grin, he was also trying to wrap his head around the fact that they had indeed won this.

They walked over to Regina who gave them their prize, a rosette and an envelope with 1000$, and a handshake, "congratulations to both of you, hope you had fun, I realize neither of you knew you would be dancing today, so that makes this a bit of a surprise I'm sure…" She leaned closer to them, away from the microphone and whispered, "I wish both of you the best of luck." Killian nodded his thanks, still a little dumbfounded that they had won.

Emma and Killian walked over to Leo and he grinned at them, "congratulations, Sis, you two were the best pirate dancers here."

"The only pirate dancers, lad," Killian joked and ruffled Leo's hair affectionately, "though we did have a pretty good pirate magician, eh?"

Leo beamed up at his new hero and hugged Killian around the middle, slightly surprised Killian looked over at Emma, who had a fond smile on her face when she looked at them. Killian shrugged his shoulders and smiled down at the lad, he had found it quite easy to be with Emma's family, a thing that he was very happy for. It would make things a lot easier when they both would be living in Boston.

They all walked off the stage and could hear Regina wrapping up the show, letting everyone know that dinner was to be served in half an hour. Emma was now looking forward to spending the rest of the day with Killian at her side, while she would be having fun with her family and friends. She never let go of Killian's hand as they found her parents, who hugged them both. Even Killian got a hug from both parents, and Emma could hear her father say to Killian, "welcome to the family, eh?" David smiled at Killian; he was a decent guy who seemed keen on making his daughter happy, a thing David would appreciate.

When Emma saw this she couldn't be happier, it meant the world to her that her parents had accepted Killian being part of her life. She walked over and gave her father another hug, "thanks dad, for everything." She smiled a teary smile at her father who said, "You're welcome Sweetie, we wanted this vacation to be fun and I think we managed that quite well, don't you?" Emma nodded and walked over to Killian again. She took a chance and leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek, not caring that her parents were right in front of them. Killian smiled down at her and raised an eyebrow, she hummed, "love you."

"Love you too, Swan." Killian suddenly wished they were alone this very minute as he wanted to kiss her properly, but looking over her head he could see her parents keeping a watchful eye on them. He sighed and asked, "so this dinner and dancing….?" He trailed off not sure how to ask if he was part of that too, he had not thought to ask Ruby when she had proposed the idea of surprising Emma with them dancing at the talent show.

"Yes that includes you too, you're our guest so Walsh can just stuff his rules up his arse and sulk in a corner," Emma stated firmly and then laughed; she had seen how annoyed the Flying Monkey had been when they crashed his intermission act.

Killian smiled his thanks to her, giving her a quick kiss on the lips; it was amazing how easy she read him by now. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and walked with her family to find their table. They realized that their table had been expanded to include Ruby and Will, though they were workers at the resort Regina had apparently seen fit for them to join the Nolan's table. The evening ended up being the best ending to their vacation and plenty of dancing for them all the rest of the night. Both Emma and Killian were having the time of their lives as they danced together, not really caring about the world around them. Killian was trying to keep the dancing more modest as he was very much aware of the fact that her parents would keep a watchful eye on them. Emma was not as eager to keep it formal, and in the end, she had dragged him outside in a small courtyard between two sections of the hotel. The music was still within earshot and she let her body slide closer and closer to his, in the end, he groaned and gave up trying to be modest.

Killian let his hands rest low on her back, pulling her closer to his body as they swayed to the music. Emma smiled in victory as she felt his resolve crumble; this was how she wanted to dance with her pirate. Her hands slid up and rounded his neck, pulling him in for a kiss, the kiss deepened and grew more and more passionate by the second.

"Bloody hell woman…" Killian gasped as he pulled away from her craving lips, "ye are playing with fire here, not sure your parents…" her finger shushed him and he raised a curious eyebrow.

"Don't want to talk about my parents when I'm going on a treasure hunt with my pirate, so take me to sea, Captain and show me the stars and beyond," Emma whispered huskily and pressed her body closer to his.

Killian stood there gobsmacked at her bold suggestion, but within a second he grinned mischievously and swept his arm out towards the parking lot, "behold my vessel is ready to take my beautiful Swan princess on a treasure hunt she'll never forget, my fairest Lady Swan." Emma laughed at his antics and hooked her arm through his and practically dragged him towards his truck. She quickly sends a text to her parents letting them know she was with Killian; she didn't care what their thoughts were about this.

Still dressed as pirates they drove off into the endless land of opportunities filled with pirate treasure hunts and dancing. The horizon was the destination for their future.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: the pirate dance is done to the theme from "Pirates of the Caribbean" and there is a youtube video from Dancing with the stars that sort of shows what I had in mind with their dance (you can search: "dancing with the stars, season 20, Pirates of the Caribbean" )…. I just added a lift because that was a huge part of the Dirty Dancing movie. And while I have not followed the storyline of that movie very much I did want to have that part in the finale. Hope you liked my idea?
> 
> The song they play when they crash the intermission is WALK THE MOON "Shut up and dance", I was looking for a more modern song to use in this final scene.


	17. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay this IS the final installment of this fanfiction, just something small and sweet... and by the way, if you have not seen my M-rated version of their first time together (in chapter 11) go check it out... it's just more detailed and well yes more in the M-rated category ;) :P
> 
> I hope you like this little ad-on for this story... which I have enjoyed so much to work on. I'm on to bigger things (I hope) and hope you will follow me on the next adventure... this will also be inspired by another show... so keep in touch and let me know what you think of this.

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Epilogue

Emma woke up in her bed to the blaring sound of her alarm, she groaned into her pillow, _why did she have to wake up so early?_ Oh yes, it was her graduation day today, she smiled to herself at the thought, finally, years of school was over, she had taken a major in Criminal justice and wanted to find work in the police force. Maybe as a criminal investigator, Killian had said that she could always become a private investigator if everything else failed. She smiled at thought of her boyfriend, who was not with her this morning. He had evaded her persuasions the night before in hopes of him spending the night. Killian had claimed she needed her beauty sleep and promised to meet her at college for the ceremony.

Pulling her thoughts together she got out of bed and got ready for the big day ahead of her, her cap and gown hung on her wardrobe. She couldn't wait to finally get her diploma. She hurried through her morning routine and even found time to eat a little breakfast, though a pop-tart might not be considered real breakfast, it wouldn't be if you asked Killian. She munched on the sweet pop-tart while she waited for her parents to come pick her up. They would drive her to the college and after the ceremony they would all drive out to their farmhouse outside of Boston. Her mother had planned this big party inviting every member of their family, even some close friends of both them and Emma. Even Regina and Robin Mills-Hood would come, even though they would be busy getting their resort up and running for the season.

Emma had not been overly fond of the idea of this big party just for her, but her mother was a living breathing party planner by heart and she was getting so excited about her daughter graduating that she might have gone a bit overboard on all the planning. But Emma had let her mother run the show and only given her some input on her own wishes for the party. Two of her close friends from college would be there, she had known Ariel and Lilly through both high school and college, they would join the party a little later after they had celebrated with their families. She only wished Ruby and Will would have been able to come, but they had both been so busy with work, preparing for the next season at the resort. Will had stayed in Storybrooke during winter and had moved in with Ruby shortly after the season had ended. They rented a small apartment in Ruby's grandmother's house. Ruby helped out her grandmother at the dinner during the winter and Will had found a job at the docks helping fishermen winter prep their fishing boats. The four friends had kept in touch during the last year and Emma and Killian taken one trip on an extended weekend in February visiting their friends.

When the doorbell announced the arrival of her parents she found her graduation cap and had already donned the gown. She smoothed her hands down the silky fabric, she was finally graduating and her life lay ahead of her, a life she wanted to share with Killian.

She opened the door and was met with a hug from both her parents.

"Are you ready Sweetie?" Her mother asked, Emma only shrugged and said, "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." They walked to the car and drove to the college.

Emma searched the open outdoor area for Killian. The weather had been sunny and the ceremony was scheduled to be held outside. Finally she found his dark hair, and to her greatest surprise he was standing next to their friends Ruby and Will. Emma squealed in joy as she ran over to them. She had not seen them since their visit in February.

Ruby gave her characteristic wolfish grin when she spotted Emma bolting towards them.

"Hello there girl, oh you look so grown up now Ems," Ruby laughed after hugging her friend. Emma smiled fondly at her friend, Ruby was 4 years her senior but they had clicked from day one so the age gap didn't really matter, though Ruby had taken it upon herself to tease Emma endlessly about it.

"What are you guys doing here…? I thought you wouldn't be able to make it?" Emma asked as she walked over to Will and hugged him too.

"We wanted to surprise you and your parents might have tried to persuade Regina Mills to give us a few days off to come here, I mean even they are invited… so…" Ruby explained with a shrug.

"I'll have to thank them later…" Emma trailed off as she met the eyes of her boyfriend standing next to Will. He looked at her with so much love and pride in his eyes that her heart soared to the skies above.

Emma took a step closer to him and pulled him into a kiss, when finally together they didn't pay much attention to their friends.

"I missed you," Emma whispered with a huge grin all over her face.

"You just saw me yesterday remember, hmm?" Killian said with a laugh but kept her in his arms anyway. He looked down at her gown and the square cap on her head; he flicked the edge of the cap and said, "I'm so damn proud of you Emma, you know that right?"

Emma smiled and nodded her head, "I'm proud of you too, you know!" Emma was truly proud of what Killian had done the past year. When he finally had found the right place to live, a small 2 bedroom apartment only 3 blocks from Emma's loft, he had gone job hunting. Two weeks later he was now a dance instructor at a smaller dance studio in downtown Boston. They also did some charity work and Killian had dived headfirst into this and was doing a free class once a week for kids with social problems or from low-income families. The dancing took them off the streets and gave them something to work hard for and find meaning in life.

Emma reached up and pulled him in for another kiss, really forgetting they were with other people. Suddenly her mother tapped her on her shoulder and when Emma turned to her mother she smiled sheepishly at her, "sorry mom."

"It's okay Emma, but you do need to find your way to your seat you know," Mary Margaret said and started to straighten up on the cap and the gown making sure it all looked just right. Emma smiled her thanks to her mother and turned to her friends and Killian, "I'll see you on the other side, eh?"

They all wished her good luck and Emma found her seat next to her class. Her two best friends, Ariel and Lilly were there with hugs and greetings as well. They sat down and waited for the ceremony to start. Emma fidgeted nervously with her gown, she was not too fond of going on stage in front of everyone, but this day was so special, she had worked so hard to finally be here.

Before she knew it the ceremony was over and she was met with her family and friends, plus one grinning boyfriend who could help in kissing her whenever he had a chance of doing so. She kept her arm wrapped around his waist as they walked to the parking lot. Leo was bouncing ahead of them, he was starting to look forward to the party later, all the cake and food their mother had prepared was waiting for them at the farmhouse.

Emma drove with her friends in Killian's truck, and the talk turned to what lay ahead of them. The party, Emma had warned her friends on the way that the party would be something over the top and might a bit too much, but it had been her mother's work and Emma had let it happen. She was just happy that she had her friends there with her. She was looking forward to when Ariel and Lilly would join the party.

Finally, they arrived at Nolan's farmhouse, it was a big place, they had expanded on the house over the years and the land and property had been undergoing a lot of remodeling as well. It could now easily hold a party as grand as the one her mother had had planned for today. The garden was filled with guests, everyone in her family was there, some of Nolan Industries closets work partners, and the employees closest to her father. She had to shake her head by the sheer number of people there, she turned to Killian before going out of the car, and said, "Couldn't you just turn around the truck and bring me somewhere quiet please." She rolled her eyes and pointed to the crowd outside, "I don't like to be the center of attention, what the hell did my mother even think?" She shook her head as she stepped out of the car. Killian met her and took her in his arms, and whispered, "Because your mother loves you and wanted to celebrate this day for you. So guess you have to just grin and bear it, hmm." He nuzzled her neck and whispered, "You danced in front of a whole auditorium last summer, remember?"

"That was different!" Emma claimed with a huff, then grabbed his hand and pulled them towards the guests. When her mother saw her she swept in and took her hand, dragging her around to meet and greet the guests. In the end her head was swimming with faces and names, and she leaned against Killian who had found them a table they now shared with Ruby and Will. Their friends had already found the barbeque buffet and were munching on the delicious food.

"Want something to eat love?" Killian asked and rose from his seat, leaning over and kissed her on the cheek. Emma nodded and told him just to take whatever he wanted, then looked at him as he walked over to the buffet. Ruby nudged her shoulder, "that man is something ain't he?" Emma could only nod before Will exclaimed, "Oy, what about me, love?" Ruby shoved his shoulder but still reassured her boyfriend, "you love is one amazing loving man that I can't seem to live without, so you're stuck with me, I'm merely pointing out that our dear Emma here has found herself a keeper, Hmm?"

Emma smiled at her friend's antics and sat there in her own thoughts and thought a little about what Ruby had said, _he is a keeper_ ; she knew that she also knew that she would want to spend the rest of her days with him and she suddenly knew what her, their, next step would be.

When Killian returned with two plated filled to the brim with all various foods she realized she was famished. That pop tart this morning had not given her enough energy for the day. They sat eating for several minutes and did a bit of small talk with Ruby and Will.

When dinner was over the party went on with dancing and open bar, Emma was still in shock at the amount of time this must have taken her mother to plan. But she was starting to enjoy herself more and more and she found herself on the dance floor several times, with both her father and Will, and even her little brother Leo had asked her to dance with a toothy grin. She certainly did dance with Killian too, their dancing was close and intimate and Emma had to remind herself that they were among family here.

At one point she was left alone with her thoughts again when Killian had gone to find some snacks and a drink for them. When he returned she scooted her chair closer to his and rested her arm around his shoulder, letting her fingers slide through his hair, still thinking about her plan.

"Move in with me!" She said in a low whispered, hoping that he would say yes.

Killian turned further towards her looking at her with a curious eyebrow raised, "come again love, not sure I quite got that… you're asking me to move in with you?"

Emma smiled and shrugged, "only if you want to that is, but been thinking over the past few weeks what I really want to do with my life, and I know one thing, and that is who I want to live with, you!" She let her hand rest on his neck waiting for his response; she bit her lip in anticipation, what if he said no.

"I'd be honored love; nothing will make me happier than to move in with you, so your place or mine, hmm?" Killian couldn't help but grin at her proposal, sure he had thought about moving in with her, and they had talked about the future, but never got around to making any final plans, and it had all been so far into the future. This was _now_ and in this time of their life it sure seemed like the perfect plan.

"Don't really care you know, I don't have to live near college no more so it doesn't have to be either place, we could find our own place, maybe in the suburbs or something… I don't know." Emma shrugged her shoulders; she had not really thought that much about where they would be living she only knew that she wanted to live with this man.

"We will find something I'm sure," Killian reassured her and let his hands pull her into a sweet kiss filled with promises of the future.

The party was still going and Lilly and Ariel had arrived and the younger guests took the dance floor with even more dancing. At one point Ruby had somehow persuaded the DJ to play the soundtrack to the Pirates of the Caribbean, she was grinning like a madman when she stole the mice and shouted, "Hit it, Emma and Killian, this is your dance."

Emma broke down laughing when she felt Killian pull her out to the dance floor, "come, love, this we can do, dance with me, eh?"

Emma merely nodded her head and grinned and shook her head at Ruby who still stood by the DJ. She looked at her sneaky friend pointedly and then pointed between Ruby and Will making them know they should join them on the dance floor. Ruby shrugged and finally gave in and grabbed her boyfriend who had to quickly place his drink on a nearby table. The four friends soon got the rest of the party to join in on their dance and Emma ended up having so much fun. It turned out to be a great party, she was pleased that her mother had thought about setting up a DJ and there could be dancing.

When the party was winding down Emma and Killian sat on the steps leading up to the porch that spread around the farmhouse. They both looked up at the now black night sky filled with millions of stars, showing a path to their future, together. There was no need for words; they both knew that the future for them lay out there on the horizon.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final A/N: Thank you for keeping up with me, hope to see you on my next project.   
> I really wanted to do this sort of "Emma asking Killian to move in with her" scene that was much like the scene in the show... I loved that moment in their history, it was so adorable the way Killian reacted to her question. So I hope I did make that part of this work, let me know????

**Author's Note:**

> END NOTE: hope you like this idea... tell if you think this will work or not. Next up Killian and Emma will meet.


End file.
